Less can be more as door closes on 2013

Geneseo and Nazareth took to the outdoors at Frontier Field in Rochester, N.Y., on Sunday, with Geneseo eking out a 3-2 victory (photo: Dan Hickling).

With the holiday break having begun in earnest, the weekend just past saw little in the way of Division III action.
However, less is often more, and so it was on Sunday in Rochester, N.Y, where No. 14 Geneseo and Nazareth hooked up in what could be called the “Currier and Ives Classic.”
In sum, the teams skated outdoors at Frontier Field as part of Rochester’s 10-day long celebration of hockey.
The game itself lived up to the build up as Geneseo eked out a 3-2 win.
Tyler Brickler scored twice (Nos. 7 and 8) for the Ice Knights, countering two tallies by Nazareth freshman Ben Blasko (4 and 5).
The only action No. 11 Utica saw was at home against the U.S. National Under-18 Team, a tilt the Pioneers won handily 4-1. Four different scorers connected for Utica and freshman goalie Marcus Zelzer turned aside 29 shots offered by the 18s, a team drawn heavily from D-I commits and NHL draft candidates.
St. Scholastica endured the toughest weekend among all USCHO.com ranked teams. The ninth-ranked Saints dropped both of their starts, 3-2 at St. John’s on Friday, then were blanked at home the following night by No. 6 St. Thomas.