There was much claimed over the weekend in terms of regular season titles including Curry, Hobart and Wilkes laying claim to No. 1 seeding and home-ice advantage for their conference tournaments but there is so much more to be resolved in the final week of the regular season for playoff eligibility and seeding across several leagues. Two heavyweight battles between Utica and Geneseo left the UCHC leadership in a dead heat entering the final two games of the conference schedule and NESCAC finds the top two spots mostly settled between Hamilton and Trinity and everything else a mad scramble for the remaining playoff spots and seeding. The unofficial playoffs have begun and while this week’s action helped clarify some things, the action in the upcoming week will determine all for the post-season. Here is a recap of the east:
CNE
Curry claimed the regular season title in grand fashion with weekend wins over Endicott and the University of New England who also wrapped up the second and third spots, respectively. Suffolk has secured fourth place while the final week will see a three-way battle for the final two playoff positions amongst Johnson & Wales, Wentworth, and Nichols who are separated by one point with one game remaining.
Curry hosted Endicott on Friday night and following a scoreless first period, the Colonels popped in a pair of goals in the second period and two more to extend the lead to 4-0 in the third period. The Gulls would rally for two late goals in a 4-2 loss as Shane Soderwall turned back 33 of 35 shots for the Colonels win. Manny Cabral scored two goals for Curry to lead the attack. Saturday’s game at UNE was an opportunity to clinch the regular season title and the Colonels claimed a 2-1 lead after the opening period. No scoring in the second period meant an exciting third period that saw the home team level the score on a goal from Dominic Murphy before Curry scored twice in less than two minutes for a 4-2 lead. Dylan Schuett scored late for the Nor’easters to halve the deficit but late pressure with the netminder pulled could not find the equalizer past Soderwall and Curry skated off with a 4-3 win. Nolan McDonough scored two goals for Curry who extended their win streak to thirteen games.
Endicott celebrated Senior Night on Saturday, hosting Johnson & Wales and posted a 4-1 win but the big news on the ice was the return of Jack Smiley to the Gulls’ lineup. The senior forward had been recovering from a devastating stroke three years-ago and worked his way back to action, skating in the opening lineup on Saturday night.
MAC
Wilkes, Stevenson, and Neumann have locked down the top three seeds for the conference tournament entering the final week of the season. Arcadia and Alvernia are battling for the fourth spot with the final games this week.
The Colonels needed a four-goal rally to down King’s on Friday, 5-3. Matt Carlson scored two goals while Max Cocchi added a goal and an assist in the comeback win over the monarchs. On Saturday, things went a little easier on Senior Day as Nick Swain scored a goal and assisted on two others in a 5-0 win over Alvernia. Goaltender Jack Perna earned the shutout win stopping all twenty-six Golden Wolves attempts on net.
Stevenson broke out the offense in a big way over the weekend scoring sixteen goals in a pair of lopsided wins over Alvernia and Lebanon Valley. In Friday’s 9-4 win, a five-goal second period including three power play goals broke open the contest for the Mustangs. Liam McCanney paced the attack with two goals and three assists. In Saturday’s 7-1 drubbing of the Flying Dutchmen, Graeme McCrory, and Blake Benson each scored hat tricks for the Mustangs.
Neumann won their only contest of the weekend by a 7-1 score over Misericordia. Max Donohoe scored a pair of goals while Matt Dimaline added a goal and two assists to pace the Knights attack in a comfortable win over the Cougars.
MASCAC
The MASCAC standings have much to settle over the final week of play as the battle for the top spot between Plymouth State and Anna Maria may very well come down to the final game on the schedule in the regular season between the two schools. The final positions for a logjam of teams between fourth and seventh place will also keep things interesting as Worcester State, Fitchburg State, Westfield State and Massachusetts-Dartmouth are looking to improve position in the remaining games.
Fitchburg State played a prominent role this week in the battle for the top as they upset the Panthers on Thursday night at home, 2-1. Max Macchioni was outstanding in net making twenty-seven saves while Elowan Orme-Lynch scored the game-winning goal in third period to help the Falcons snap a three-game losing streak. FSU played Anna Maria on Saturday and the AmCats were looking to close the gap to the idle Panthers with a win. The Falcons took a 3-2 lead into the third period, but the AmCats scored four unanswered goals to post a 6-3 win and move to within one point of first place with one game in hand on Plymouth State. Dylan McElhinny scored two goals while Tobias Omholt added a goal and two assists.
Rivier picked up a win and an overtime tie last week. On Thursday, the Raiders upset Westfield State, 3-1. Cody Rumsey, Jared Salminen, and Jake Laville provided all the scoring and Luke Newell made twenty-five saves to earn the win. On Saturday, Laville’s two third period goals helped rally the Raiders to the overtime tie with Framingham State. The Rams ultimately picked up the extra point with a shootout win.
NE-10
Following the final week of the regular season, the playoff seeding is set for the NE-10 tournament. St. Anselm and St. Michael’s receive first round byes as the first and second place holders. The quarterfinals will see Southern New Hampshire host Franklin Pierce while defending champion Assumption will host Post in a first round game.
St. Anselm finished the regular season on a six-game win streak with a pair of 4-2 wins over cross-town rival, SNHU. On Friday, Jack Grey opened the scoring for the Penmen in the first minute of play, but the Hawks scored the next four goals on the way to the two-goal win. Max Burum scored one goal and assisted on another to pace the offense. On Saturday in the regular season finale, Burum again recorded a goal and an assist while the NE-10’s leading scorer, Hunter Brackett scored his twentieth goal of the season in the win over the Penmen.
St. Michael’s got the help they needed from St. Anselm against SNHU but needed points in their final series with Assumption to move up and claim the second-place position and playoff bye. On Friday, Brennan McFarland’s four-point game – a hat trick and an assist gave the Purple Knights all the offense they needed in a 5-1 win over the Greyhounds. On Saturday, St. Michael’s closed out the regular season with a 4-2 win and all the scoring coming in the second period. Defenseman David Ciancio scored one goal and assisted on another to give the home team the win on Senior Day.
NEHC
Hobart has clinched the top spot in the conference but after that there is still much to play for in the final week of the season upcoming. Just five points separate second place Babson from fifth place Skidmore while five points separate sixth place New England College from ninth place Massachusetts-Boston in battles for the final playoff positions.
Norwich pulled themselves within a point of second place Babson with a pair of wins over Elmira over the weekend. In Friday’s 5-2 win over the Soaring Eagles, Holden Doggett, Cooper Bertrand, and Clark Kerner scored third period goals to snap a 2-2 tie for a big win. On Saturday, the formula repeated itself with the Cadets scoring four unanswered goals to pace a 6-2 win. Bertrand led the attack scoring a goal and picking up two assists while Kerner added a goal and an assist in the home win.
Massachusetts-Boston helped their playoff cause with a pair of road wins over Albertus Magnus over the weekend. On Friday, the Beacons celebrated a big overtime win as Michael Krupinski netted the game-winner just over a minute into the bonus hockey period in a 3-2 win. On Saturday, the Beacons scored three goals in the third period to rally from a 3-2 deficit to earn the 5-3 win over the Falcons. Jack Mortson and Jude Kurtas each scored in the final minute of regulation to boos the Beacons to the weekend sweep.
NESCAC
Hamilton has essentially earned the top spot with a six-point lead over Trinity and holding the tiebreaker in head-to-head contests. Trinity is five points ahead of third place Bowdoin and after that the fun begins entering the final two games for everyone on the schedule. Colby sits just a point behind Bowdoin and then there is just a five-point gap between fifth place Middlebury and ninth place Connecticut College. Playoff eligibility is on the line this coming weekend.
Middlebury helped themselves in their two-game series with travel partner Williams. After Friday’s 0-0 overtime tie where the Ephs took the shootout, the Panthers took a 2-0 win on home ice backstopped by goaltender Andrew Heinze’s forty-five saves.
Tufts took a big win over Hamilton on Friday as Gus Bylin made thirty-five saves and goals from Brennan Horn and Harrison Bazianos were enough for a 2-1 win over the Continentals. Saturday’s battle with Amherst was important for both teams in the playoff race but it was the Mammoth who broke open a 2-1 game with three, third period goals, including two from Zachary Murray, in a 5-1 win over the Jumbos that tightened things up in the bottom of the potential playoff bracket.
SUNYAC
The playoff teams are all known for the top six qualifiers but the positions and seeding for the six are still to be determined amongst Cortland, Oswego, Buffalo State, Plattsburgh, Canton, and Potsdam making the final contests of the regular season all important as first round byes are on the line for the top two teams – Cortland plays its postponed game with Oswego on Monday night.
Plattsburgh picked up a pair of much needed wins over Buffalo State and Fredonia to move into the playoff picture. On Friday, the drama was immense in the final two minutes of the third period. After Jake Lanyi’s empty-net goal gave the Cardinals a 4-2 lead with less than two minutes remaining, the Bengals responded with Tyler Penree’s marker just thirty seconds later and Austin Micale’s game-tying goal with just ten seconds remaining in regulation. Kevin Weaver-Vitale sent the home fans home happy as he netted the game-winner in the final minute of overtime for a 5-4 OT thriller. On Saturday, the Cardinals punched their ticket into the playoffs with a 4-3 win that knocked Fredonia out of the playoff hunt. Goals by Blake Hall and Tyler Ramm just twenty-three seconds apart in the third period rallied PSU from a 3-2 deficit to the playoff-clinching victory over the Blue Devils.
UCHC
The battle at the top is no different following the series split between Utica and Geneseo over the weekend. Manhattanville, Chatham and Nazareth are all battling for positions three through five in the final week of the regular season.
Utica played host on Friday night and came out firing with Matt Wood and Collin Patterson scoring for the Pioneers in the first two minutes of play. Shane Murphy would add one more in the first period and Utica cruised to a 4-0 win over the Knights. Goaltender Ryan Piros stopped all thirty shots he faced to pick up the shutout and move the Pioneers into first place. Back home on Saturday it was Geneseo’s turn to start fast as the Knights scored three goals in less than a three-minute span of the opening period and extended the lead to 5-0 in the second period before Utica scored three unanswered goals. Two late third period tallies from Filip Wiberg and Luke Panchisin sealed the 7-3 win and weekend split that leaves both teams tied for the top spot with two games remaining on the schedule.
After dropping a hard-fought game to Nazareth on Friday by a 3-2 score, Brockport earned a weekend split with the Golden Flyers with a 2-0 win on Saturday. David Filak was outstanding in goal making thirty-three saves earning a shutout in the 2-0 win for the Golden Eagles. Matt Anastasio and Kaleb Miller provided all the scoring Filak would need to help Brockport to their third home win of the season.
Three Biscuits
Blake Benson & Graeme McCrory – Stevenson – each recorded a hat trick in the Mustangs 7-1 win over Lebanon Valley on Saturday night.
Jack Smiley – Endicott – returned to the Gulls lineup on Senior Night after almost three years recovering from a stroke as the Gulls defeated Johnson & Wales in his return.
Andrew Heinze – Middlebury – stopped forty-five Eph attempts on goal in a 2-0 win for the Panthers over their rival and travel partner on Saturday night.
Several teams have locked in regular season titles and all the privileges that come with finishing atop the conference standings. That said there are some dog fights remaining over the final several days of the regular season where top spots, first round byes and home-ice seeding are on the line not mention qualification in the post-season in leagues like MASCAC and NESCAC where teams are clustered and desperate for points. I think it is official, playoff season has already begun.
