Wow! What a weekend that was!
The top four in the NCHA all played in key head-to-head matchups; the upset bug took a bite of Oswego and Endicott, and all the other conference races saw their share of drama. Just another typical weekend across the D-II/III landscape.
Here’s the info on the action that took place and excited fans on the ice over the weekend:
Hobart cruises, Oswego stumbles
With just two points separating Hobart and Oswego entering the weekend in the SUNYAC standings, it certainly appeared that the head-to-head showdown next weekend would be a critical matchup for the top spot in the conference. It still is a critical matchup but Oswego’s stumble at home against SUNY-Canton gave the undefeated Statesmen some breathing room atop the standings.
After a 5-1 win over the kangaroos on Friday night, Hobart soundly defeated Potsdam by a 7-0 score with Ryan Remick and Tanner Daniels each scoring two goals in the lopsided win. Goaltender Mavrick Goyer stopped 17 shots to earn the shutout win as the Statesmen moved to 20-0-0 on the season.
Following a non-conference tie with Nazareth earlier in the week, the Lakers trounced Potsdam on Friday night scoring five times in the opening period on the way to a 9-3 win over the Bears. Colin Vassallo and Brendan Gillmore each had three-point nights for Oswego in the lopsided win.
On Saturday, things were quite a bit tighter against the Kangaroos who entered the third period knotted at a goal apiece. A goal from Alexander Colton gave Canton a 2-1 lead early in the third period before Niko Schoner and Evan Pringle sealed the upset win with empty-net goals in the final minute for the final 4-1 margin. Goaltender Trey Miller was outstanding stopping 35 of 36 shots for the Kangaroos.
Adrian extends advantage in NCHA
With Trine and Aurora splitting their weekend series with one win apiece, Adrian needed results on the road against St. Norbert to earn some breathing room atop the congested NCHA standings.
On Friday night, first period goals from Jacob suede and Bradley Somers got the Bulldogs off to a fast start and a 2-0 lead after the first period. The Green Knights cut the deficit to one goal with Braden Lindstrom’s second period tally, but Adrian closed out the 4-1 win with goals from Alec Lovisek and David Clarke in the third period. Goaltender Ryan Piros stopped 35 of 36 shots to earn the win as the Bulldogs were outshot by a 36-26 margin for the game.
Saturday’s re-match saw some highly contested hockey and all the goals scored on the power play. Jackson Rilei gave the home team a 1-0 advantage in the second period before Adrian answered back with extra-man goals from Bradley Somers and Patrick Saini for a 2-1 lead midway through the third period. Logan Dombrowsky netted the equalizer on the power play and neither team could find the game-winner through the end of regulation or overtime. Adrian helped itself out with a 1-0 shootout win while extending their lead in the standings to five points over Aurora.
Suffolk, UNE and Curry sweep; Endicott stumbles
The best way to keep pace in the standings or stay where you are is to win and in the highly contested CNE, Suffolk, UNE and Curry continued their winning ways with weekend sweeps over Nichols, Johnson & Wales and Wentworth respectively, leaving the three teams separated by just one point.
Endicott fell to the upset bug on Friday night as Western New England pulled off the upset with a dramatic 4-3 overtime win in front of a delighted home crowd. Both teams exchanged goals in each of the three periods with Billy VanSumeren tying the game at 3-3 midway through the third period. Endicott fired 56 shots at goaltender Luca Scaglione who stood tall in net and held off the Gulls to send the game to overtime. Just under two minutes into the extra session, Michael Bottrell netted the overtime winning goal for a 4-3 win over the Gulls.
Endicott rebounded with a 7-0 win on Saturday with first-year Louie Kamienski pacing the attack with two goals and an assist. The weekend split dropped Endicott to fourth place in the CNE, six points behind league leading Suffolk.
Fitchburg and Anna Maria battling for lead in MASCAC
The two pre-season favorites are right where most expected them to be as Fitchburg State holds a 1.5-point lead over Anna Maria following the weekend’s action in MASCAC.
The AmCats picked up a pair of road wins over Framingham State and Salem State to maximize their point haul for the week. On Thursday, Anna Maria jumped to a 3-0 lead early in the first period and cruised to a 6-1 win over the Rams with Owen Barrow scoring a pair of goals for the AmCats.
On Saturday, the AmCats surrendered a first period goal to the Vikings but that is all goaltender Matthew Hennessey would give up as Braeden McKinnon tied the game early in the second period with a shorthanded goal and Lucas de la Salle gave the visitors a 2-1 lead in the third before Barrow closed out the scoring with an empty-net goal to seal the 3-1 win.
Fitchburg also extended their win streak with a sweep of games against Westfield State and Rivier. On Thursday, the Falcons broke open a scoreless game with three second period goals off the sticks of Marcus Macchioni, Hunter Dunn and Declan Bronte. They added one more in the third period before Colin roe’s power play goal broke Frederick Soderberg’s shutout bid late in the third period in the 4-1 win.
On Saturday, the Falcons offense was on display as Hunter Dunn netted a hat trick in a 7-1 rout over Rivier that kept the Falcons atop the MASCAC standings.
Gustavus stays hot with sweep over Bethel
Just three points separate the top five teams in the MIAC with Gustavus riding an 11-game win streak and weekend sweep to the top of the standings.
On Friday, a four-goal second period helped Gustavus overcome a 2-1 deficit on the way to a 7-4 road win over Bethel. Grant Elings scored a pair of goals and added an assist in the win.
On Saturday, Gustavus completed the weekend sweep in dramatic fashion. Trialing 1-0 in the final minute of regulation, Nate Stone scored with the extra attacker on the ice and just six seconds remaining on the clock to send the game to overtime. In the opening minute of the extra session, Elings completed his strong weekend with the overtime winning goal in a 2-1 win that moved Gustavus to the top of the standings.
USCHO Game Pucks
Matt O’Donnell – Aurora – backstopped the Spartans to a big 2-0 shutout win over Trine that helped Aurora earn a weekend split of the weekend series. O’Donnell made 33 saves to secure the shutout win.
Hunter Dunn – Fitchburg State – scored a hat trick for the Falcons in a 7-1 home win over Rivier on Saturday. Dunn scored twice within seven seconds to open the offensive fireworks less than three minutes into the first period.
Luca Scaglione – Western New England – the Golden Bears’ netminder stopped 53 of 56 shots in a 4-3 overtime win over Endicott on Friday night. Scaglione was exceptionally sharp in the second and third periods where he stopped 22 and 18 shots to give WNEU a chance in overtime.
The calendar has moved to February, and I am pretty sure the groundhog sees at least six more weeks of great hockey. It’s going to be a fun ride to the finish!