And then there was one.
Only one unbeaten remains in D-III and the East after this past weekend’s nonconference and tournament play that saw exciting action and upsets aplenty.
Standing tall after the Primelink Tournament is Plattsburgh, who technically beat Middlebury and tied Norwich in Northfield, Vt., but won the tournament in the second overtime session 6-5.
And that is just one place to start on this weekend’s recap.
EAST WEEKEND WRAP – Tim Costello
Nonconference Action
SUNYAC’s Geneseo squad came down to play Williams in a nonconference showdown and the Knights used three third-period goals and strong goaltending from Devin McDonald to take down the previously unbeaten Ephs 3-0. Williams rebounded Sunday with a 5-1 win over Johnson and Wales in the third game of a series over the past three years where son Brett Kangas and his Wildcats have gone up against Bill Kangas, Brett’s dad, and his Williams team. The win on Sunday gave bragging rights to Williams, who took the last two games after dropping the first one.
Elmira had a big weekend at home facing off against two nationally-ranked teams from the NESCAC and NEHC in Amherst and Babson, respectively. On Saturday, Elmira knocked off Amherst 6-3 behind two goals from Brian Depp and 41 saves from goalie Sandro Aeschlimann. On Sunday, the Soaring Eagles knocked off another unbeaten in Babson behind two goals from Jarryd ten Vaanholt and 38 saves from Aeschlimann.
Another unbeaten to fall was the Beacons of Massachusetts-Boston, who saw host Bowdoin race to a 1-0 lead in the first 30 seconds of the game on their way to a 5-0 victory and their first win of the season. Goalie Peter Cronin made 38 saves, including 20 stops in the third period for the Polar Bears.
Finally, after shelling Stonehill 7-1 on Saturday, top-ranked Trinity got a wake-up call on Sunday from Salve Regina. The Seahawks took down the national champions using a four-goal second period led by two goals from Marc Biggs to create a crazy third period. Trinity rallied to tie the score only to see Nick Owens’ goal midway through the third period be the game-winner for the visitors. Alex Pompeo sealed the win with an empty-net goal as the Seahawks outshot the Bantams 37-25 to record the big upset.
Tournament Action
In the inaugural Worcester City Shootout hosted by Assumption, Nichols defeated the hosts 3-2 to win the title after opening with a 7-1 win over Worcester State.
By virtue of a 1-1 tie with UMass-Boston and a 5-2 win over Endicott, snapping the Gulls’ five-game win streak, the White Mules won the Bowdoin-Colby Classic. Five different players scored for Colby with thirteen different players recording points in Colby’s first win of the season.
The University of New England took the Manchester PAL Stovepipe Tournament by downing Massachusetts-Dartmouth 6-2 on Sunday. The Nor’easters outshot the Corsairs 52-29 and took advantage of a hat trick from Brady Fleurent, who also added an assist in the win. The Nor’easters got to the final knocking off Daniel Webster 4-2 on Saturday.
In the Skidmore Invitational, Cortland took the hardware home by knocking off the hosts by a 4-2 score that saw two empty-net goals and an extra-attacker goal in 56 seconds of the final 90 seconds of the game. Cortland then knocked off Manhattanville, a winner over Potsdam, to win the title by a 6-3 score with six different players scoring for the Red Dragons.
Tufts won the Rutland Herald Invitational championship hosted by Castleton with a 4-3 win over Brockport. Despite being outshot 42-25, the Jumbos saw Mike Leary score a hat trick and Nik Nugnes make 39 saves in the first win for new coach Pat Norton. Tufts got to the final winning a shootout following a 2-2 overtime tie with Western New England on Friday.
Host school Utica was not so hospitable a host to two visiting western schools as the Pioneers downed St. John’s in the tournament opener 4-2 before taking the title with a 1-0 win over St. Thomas. Alex Robert’s first period goal stood up behind 28 saves from Pioneer goalie Michael Fredrick.
Weekend Biscuits
Mike Leary – Tufts – Scored a hat trick, including a shorthanded goal for the Jumbos in leading the offense in the 4-3 win over Brockport in the Rutland Herald Invitational.
Brady Fleurent – UNE – Scored three goals and added an assist for the Nor’easters in their championship win over UMD in the PAL Stovepipe Tournament.
Jarryd ten Vaanholt – Elmira – Scored two goals, including the game-winner against previously unbeaten Babson in a 5-3 win. He also added two assists for four points on the weekend in Saturday’s 6-3 win over another unbeaten in Amherst.
WEST WEEKEND WRAP – Brian Lester
MIAC
St. Thomas split its road swing to New York, beating Oswego 3-2 before falling 1-0 to Utica on Saturday. Against Oswego, the Tommies broke a 2-2 tie with 7:22 left when Ben Vikich scored the game-winning goal. St. Thomas never trailed in the game and Joe Morris came through with 31 saves. Willie Faust and Jordan Lovick also scored goals for St. Thomas, which is now 5-3-2 on the season. The Tommies have played their share of close games this year. In fact, seven of their 10 games have been decided by a goal or ended in a tie … St. Mary’s pushed its unbeaten streak to seven games with a 7-4 win over Aurora Friday night. The Cardinals have won five games during the stretch. St. Mary’s scored three times in the third period to pull away for the win. Nick Albergo and Martin Gruse scored two goals apiece to pace the Cardinals, who improved to 5-2-2 on the season. St. Mary’s has scored 49 goals through nine games and Gruse is the leading scoring threat with six goals and nine assists. Albergo has five goals on the year to go along with his five assists.
NCHA
Trevor Boyd scored twice for Adrian, including the game-winner with just over a minute to play, to lift the Bulldogs to a thrilling 3-2 win over Wisconsin-Stevens Point in a battle of nationally-ranked teams. The Pointers came in ranked No. 4 in the nation but lost for the first time on the road and fell to 6-2-1 on the season. Adrian, ranked eighth, pushed its record to 5-1-1 as it stretched its unbeaten streak to six games. Boyd leads the Bulldogs in goals with six on the year. Kevin Entmaa made 33 saves, the most this season by an Adrian goaltender. He is 4-0. Nick D’Avolio and Lawrence Cornellier both scored goals for the Pointers. Brett Pinkerton tallied one goal for the Bulldogs … Concordia (Wis.) held off Bethel 2-1 Saturday to claim the Thanksgiving Cup for the third consecutive year. The Falcons got a power-play goal from Eli Riddle with 28 seconds left in regulation to complete the sweep of the Royals. The goal was the second of the year for Riddle. Concordia trailed 1-0 early before Adam Ritchie scored his first goal of the season to tie the game. Jack Romanuik came through with 23 saves as he earned his third win of the year. The Falcons improved to 5-0-1 all-time against Bethel and are off to their best start in program history, fashioning a 6-3-1 record through 10 games … Marian scored twice in the third period to stun No. 10 Wisconsin-Eau Claire 5-2 Saturday. The Sabres are 2-2-2 on the year against teams ranked in the top 10 and are 4-3-3 overall. Jack Howie scored twice for the Sabres, while Ethan Nauman and T.J. Stuntz had the only goals for the Blugolds, who fell to 6-2-2 on the year. Ben Morgan came through with a career-high three assists for Marian.
WIAC
Eau Claire won its first game of the weekend Friday night by blanking Lawrence 7-0. Brandon Wahlin scored two goals and Nauman, Garrett Clement, Derek Knetter and Jesse Tredinnick also scored goals for Eau Claire. The shutout was the first of the year for Tyler Green, who made 19 saves. He is 3-1-1 on the year for Eau Claire. Wahlin has tallied three goals and three assists this year. Clemment has come through with five goals and nine assists on the season for the Blugolds, who picked up their third road win of the year … Wisconsin-Superior lost to Hamline for the second time this season, falling 3-1 on Wednesday night. Jimmy Hughes scored the lone goal for Superior, which fell to 3-4-2 on the season. Bryce Fink started in goal and made 40 saves. He is 1-3-2 on the year. Hamline took advantage of goals by Garret Schmitz, Brandon Zurn and Charlie Adams to push their record to 4-3-2 on the year. Adams also tallied two assists as did Zurn.
