Overtimes and more overtimes in conference tournament action and battles to the very end in conference play. It was all on display this week in early playoff action in the NEHC as well as the final week for most conferences in the regular season. Here’s this week’s wrap-up for all of the excitement:
CCC
The University of New England took the regular season title with a strong finish last week where they won three one-goal games over Endicott, Salve Regina and Nichols. After trailing 2-0 and 3-2, the Nor’easters used a three-goal third period to down the Gulls on Tuesday. On Friday, UNE again found a way to rally from behind against Salve Regina. Collin Heinold and Justin Dixson scored to erase a 3-2 deficit on the way to a 4-3 win against the Seahawks. UNE capped off the regular season with a 2-1 win over Nichols. Jared Christy and Austin Morgan gave the Nor’easters an early 2-0 lead which they held on to for the win to extend their win streak to eight games.
Endicott made the other big move with a pair of key wins on the weekend to claim the No. 2 seed in the conference tournament. On Friday, Zach Mazur scored one goal and set up tow more in the first period to help the Gulls to a 3-0 lead that resulted in a 5-3 win over Suffolk. On Saturday, seeding was on the line in the season finale against Salve Regina. In a game that already felt like it was the playoffs, the goaltenders were outstanding for both teams. Conor O’Brien and Nicholas Latinovich kept the other teams in check as the game went to the third period tied at 1-1. In the third period, Andrew Kurapov scored the game-winning goal and also extended his point scoring streak to 12 games in the 2-1 win. O’Brien stopped 25 of 26 shots for Endicott while Latinovich was also great making 27 -29 saves in the loss.
On February 26, the quarterfinal round is set for the CCC tournament with No. 1 UNE hosting No. 8 Western New England; No. 2 Endicott hosting No. 7 Wentworth; No. 3 Salve Regina hosting No. 6 Nichols and No. 4 Curry hosting No. 5 Suffolk.
Independents
Canton traveled the furthest to play in the inaugural GNAC Commissioner’s Cup in Springfield, Massachusetts among the four independent D-III programs. On Friday, the Kangaroos took out the No. 2 seed Anna Maria AmCats by a 6-2 score led by Jake Mayette’s two goals and two assists. The top-seeded Albertus Magnus Falcons downed Rivier 4-1 to set-up the tournament final on Saturday.
It would be the Kangaroos who took the cup with a 5-2 win led by Zac Sirota’s goal and two assists and 46 saves from goaltender Filip Schlyter. Schlyter was at his best in the third period where he stifled the Falcons making 23 saves earning a spot on the All-Tournament team along with defenseman Sean Shepard. Jake Mayette was the Tournament MVP.
MASCAC
Plymouth State claimed their fifth consecutive regular season title with two wins to close out the conference schedule. After losing 4-2 at Westfield State on Tuesday, the Panthers found their offense against Framingham State in a 7-0 win on Thursday. Anton Nasstrom scored two goals and added an assist while Myles Abbate chipped in with a goal and two assists. On Saturday, the Panthers saw four different players score goals in building a 4-0 lead into the third period before Keagan O’Donoghue broke Kalle Andersson’s shutout bid in the final five minutes of the game.
Fitchburg State finished in second place while closing out the regular season with a win and a tie. On Thursday, Thomas Harty scored one goal and added two assists in a4-1 win over Westfield State. On Saturday, Worcester State made things tough for the Falcons taking a 3-2 lead into the third period. Toivo Kramer scored the game-tying goal with assists from Harty and Rece Bergeman to give the Falcons an overtime tie.
The regular season will close out with games on Monday and Tuesday before playoff seeding for the quarterfinals is determined. Framingham State will play Worcester State on Monday, 2/21 and Salem State on Tuesday, 2/22 to finalize the standings for the conference tournament to begin on Saturday, 2/26.
NE-10
Southern New Hampshire and St. Anselm played their weekend series like it was already the NE-10 tournament with both games ending with overtime goals. On Friday, the Penmen got the early 1-0 lead on a goal from George Thurston which stood until the third period when Chase Reynolds scored on the power play to tie the game at 1-1 with less than five minutes remaining in regulation. On to overtime where Reynolds cashed in again to give the Hawks the dramatic 2-1 win.
On Saturday, the Hawks took the early 2-0 lead on goals from Trevor Hott and Andrew Andary. SNHU then rallied back to tie the game on goals from Thurston and Joe Fiorino before Thurston became the overtime hero providing the Penmen with a 3-2 win.
SNHU is the regular season champion and top seed earning a bye to the semifinals on March 1.
NEHC
The first round of the playoffs certainly got the conference tournament off to an exciting start as both games went to overtime on Wednesday. After Kodi Legassie tied the game for Johnson & Wales with just 23 seconds remaining in regulation, New England College’s Connor Inger scored on a breakaway to send the Pilgrims on to the quarterfinals. At Southern Maine, Austin Marini scored just under three minutes into overtime to give the Huskies a 2-1 win over Castleton and advance them to the quarterfinals against Hobart.
In a game that featured two nationally ranked teams, Babson earned a hard-fought 2-1 win in overtime over Norwich on Saturday to advance to the semifinals. After two scoreless periods where goaltenders Drennen Atherton and Brad Arvanitis were sharp for their respective teams, Callum Jones scored an opportunistic goal while the Cadets were shorthanded to give the visitors a 1-0 lead. Cam Schmitt would answer for Babson on the power play later in the period but neither team could score again in regulation. As is the history at Babson, there always seems to be the fourth line guy that finds the big moment and on Saturday it was Andrew Holland who scored his first goal of the season in a very big moment to give the Beavers the 2-1 overtime win and a trip to Elmira for the semifinals.
Skidmore as the No. 6 seed traveled to Massachusetts-Boston having just seen the Beacons in the final week of the regular season. While the regular season game was low-scoring, the playoff game saw lots of offense. The Beacons had an early 1-0 lead before Skidmore scored four unanswered goals including two from Austin Rook. Chris Peters and Nolan Barrett closed the deficit to 4-3 early in the third period but Tate Brandon would surrender anything else to the Beacons and Jack Strauss sealed the 5-3 win with a last minute goal for Skidmore. Brandon made 39 saves in the win for the thoroughbreds who earned a trip to Hobart this weekend.
The top seeds in the tournament, Hobart and Elmira had no trouble in dispatching the first round winners from the playoffs on Saturday. After a 1-1 first period, Hobart broke the game open with three goals in the second period on the way to a 5-2 win over Southern Maine. Zach Tyson finished with two goals and an assist for the Statesmen in the win. At Elmira, Janis Vizbelis and Bailey Krawczyk scored two goals each in a 7-1 romp over New England College. The Soaring Eagles scored four times on the power play in the quarterfinal win.
NESCAC
Colby wrapped up the regular season title and No. 1 seed in the NESCAC tournament with a pair of shutout wins over Tufts and Connecticut College over the weekend. Andy Beran stopped all 36 shots he faced in the 3-0 and 4-0 wins for the Mules.
Trinity continued their hot play at the end of the season moving into second place with a pair of wins over Wesleyan to close out the regular season. On Friday, Riley Prattson tied the game at 2-2 for the Bantams in the third period and Ned Blanchard scored just over one minute into overtime to give Trinity the 3-2 win. On Saturday, the Cardinals took a 2-0 lead before Trinity responded with five unanswered goals on the way to a 6-3 win that extended their win streak to five games. With the losses Wesleyan dropped to the No. 4 seed in the tournament.
Williams took advantage of a tie with Hamilton and a win over Amherst to jump back into the No. 3 spot for the playoffs. Jamie Cates scored a power play goal in the third period to earn the tie with the Continentals on Friday. On Saturday, Tyler Cooligan and Jack Forrest scored goals in the third period to break a 1-1 tie and earn the Ephs a much needed 3-1 win.
With all teams eligible for the conference tournament this year due to COVID impacts, Friday will see first round games to determine the final two quarterfinal teams. No. 7 Bowdoin will host No. 10 Connecticut College while No. 8 Tufts will host No. 9 Middlebury. The winners advance to play in the quarterfinals on Saturday.
SUNYAC
The Geneseo Knights clinched the regular season title with their win over Morrisville on Sunday by a 10-1 score. After dropping a 3-2 decision on Tuesday to the resurgent Fredonia Blue Devils, the Knights knocked off Brockport 6-3 on Friday before the clinching win on Sunday. Against Brockport, Justin Cmunt and Dan Bosio each scored two goals to lead the offense for Geneseo. On Sunday, Peter Morgan and Tyson Gilmour scored two goals each and seventeen players recorded a point in the runaway win. On Wednesday, Geneseo will close out the regular season with their final make-up game against Buffalo State.
Fredonia had a very good week as they knocked off both Geneseo and Oswego to solidify their spot in the SUNYAC tournament. On Friday, the Blue Devils took 2-0 and 4-1 leads led by Ryan Bailey and Matt Letmanski’s two-point games. Bryce Witman extended the lead to 5-2 in the third period before Oswego rallied late with a pair of goals. Logan Dyck made 34 saves in the 5-4 win. On Saturday, the Blue Devils played Cortland to determine the host team for the upcoming playoffs and the Red Dragons skated away with a 3-1 win to lock-up the No. 4 seed.
The quarterfinals will take place on Saturday, 2/26 with No. 3 Plattsburgh hosting No. 6 Brockport and No. 4 Cortland hosting a re-match with No. 5 Fredonia.
UCHC
The Wilkes Colonels closed out the regular season with a pair of wins including a win over Stevenson on Saturday that earned them the MAC title. On Friday, the Colonels were led by Jimmy O’Kane’s two goals in a 6-3 win over Chatham. Donald Flynn and Tyler Barrow each had three-point games. Against Stevenson, Flynn, Tyler Dill and Phil Erickson scored the goals in a 3-1 win that snapped the Mustangs’ eight-game win streak.
Nazareth picked up a pair of big wins vaulting them into the No. 4 spot in the standings. On Saturday, the Golden Flyers knocked off Neumann 6-4 scoring four times in the second period. Ray Falso, Henry McKinney, Nick Charron and Joseph Schaefer each scored one goal and added an assist in the win. On Sunday, to close out UCHC play, Nazareth downed Manhattanville 3-2. McKinney and Charron gave the Golden Flyers a 2-0 lead and Falso added the eventual game winner in the third period to earn Nazareth full points for the weekend.
The UCHC quarterfinal round starts on Tuesday this week with the match-ups looking like this: No. 1 Utica hosts No. 8 Lebanon Valley; No. 2 Wilkes hosts No. 7 Neumann; No. 3 Stevenson hosts No. 6 Manhattanville and No. 4 Nazareth hosts No. 5 Chatham. The winners advance to the semifinals on Saturday, 2/26.
Three Biscuits
George Thurston – Southern New Hampshire – scored two goals including the winner in overtime and added an assist in the Penmen win over St. Anselm on Saturday.
Andrew Holland – Babson – scored his first goal of the season, the overtime winning goal in the Beavers’ NEHC quarterfinal win over Norwich on Saturday.
Buster Larsson – Utica – posted a five-point game with one goal and four assists in the Pioneers’ 12-1 win over Neumann on Sunday. Win #22 sets an all-time regular season record for Utica.
Bonus Biscuits
Mac Lowry – Stevenson – scored the game-winning goal in overtime in the Mustangs’ 3-2 win over Chatham on Tuesday.
Andy Beran – Colby – stopped 36 of 36 shots in back-to-back shutouts for the Mules over Tufts and Connecticut College. Beran shared the 4-0 whitewash of the Camels with teammate Joe MacDonald who played in the final minute and recorded one save.
Troy Ladka – Suffolk – scored the game-winning goal with just 28 seconds remaining in overtime to give the Rams a 4-3 win over Rivier in the first meeting between the two schools.
Austin Marini – Southern Maine – scored the overtime goal to advance the Huskies into the NEHC quarterfinals with a 2-1 win over Castleton on Wednesday
Conner Inger – New England College – scored the overtime winning goal to help Pilgrims beat Johnson & Wales on Wednesday advancing the Pilgrims to the NEHC quarterfinals.
Filip Schlyter – Canton – stopped 46 of 48 shots including 23 in the final period to help Canton win the inaugural GNAC Commissioner’s Cup. The Kangaroos beat Albertus Magnus 5-2 for the title.
There were so many big moments this past week in critical conference games and playoff thrillers. You never know who is going to step up for the big goal to advance his team to the next round. If this is how the rest of the conference playoff action is going to go, then get set for some non-stop overtime excitement for the next two weeks.
