Well last week was just dandy. A week removed from being put in the dungeon, after a sweep at the hands of Bentley, I am sure everyone predicted (I stupidly did not) that Rensselaer would sweep Union. Anybody that predicted that put your hands down, because you did not. On Friday, the Engineers came out flying in a 6-1 win over the Dutchmen at home. On Saturday, Spencer Foo got the Dutch fans a little excited early only for them to find it was just FOOOOS gold. The Engineers received an overtime goal from Viktor Liljegren to propel them to a sweep, well now where did that come from? Tons of great results that involved league teams. St. Lawrence won and tied Clarkson in a non-league pair, while Dartmouth and Harvard played to an entertaining tie, well based on what I saw anyway. I guess we should move on to the rankings…

1. Colgate (6-2-0, 0-0-0 ECAC) – Last Week 1

Some of you will give the whole, Colgate lost to an Atlantic Team. Ya, ya, ya and I don’t want to hear it. Mercyhurst is not your typical Atlantic squad and I explain it in this blog. Losing to an Atlantic team used to be a big deal, but not anymore. In other news, sophomore goaltender Charlie Finn is pretty damn good. He was also the national player of the month. (more…)

Last weekend in the NCHC featured significant showdowns between some of the nation’s top programs — from Boston College’s visit to Denver to St. Cloud’s home-and-home with Minnesota. In the end, those pairs split their series, while elsewhere, North Dakota toppled Air Force (thanks to a dramatic shorthanded goal in overtime), Nebraska-Omaha swept Cornell in central New York, and Miami and Minnesota-Duluth split the only league series of the weekend.

1. Denver is deep

Not many players can be without three 20-point scorers, all NHL draft picks and regulars in the nightly lineup, and still overcome a team like Boston College. But that’s what Denver did on Saturday night, when the Pioneers were without All-American defenseman Joey LaLeggia and forwards Quentin Shore and Zac Larazza. All three were out with, according to Pioneers coach Jim Montgomery, “the stomach flu”.

In their place, others stepped up with ease, from freshman Danton Heinen (check CHN for a full feature on the rookie sensation and Bruins draft pick tomorrow) to senior Daniel Doremus (who quietly scored 24 points last season and is now an integral component to the Pioneers top line, where he centers Heinen and sophomore Trevor Moore). Before the season began, I visited a Denver practice, and afterwards, Montgomery pointed out that his team is “better prepared as a program to handle adversity with injuries.” That depth was clearly on display on Saturday.

2. Overall Player of the Week

The NCHC’s weekly awards this week went to Miami’s Blake Coleman (Offensive Player of the Week after three goals and an assist vs. UMD), St. Cloud’s Ethan Prow (Defenseman of the Week after two assists in the Huskies’ win over Minnesota), Denver’s Danton Heinen (Rookie of the Week after scoring a pair of goals on Saturday, including the OT winner, to beat BC), and Nebraska-Omaha’s Ryan Massa (Goaltender of the Week after a tie and win at Cornell).

It’s hard to argue with those choices. Of them, the overall player of the week, for me, has to be Massa. The senior is now 4-0-1 this season and in his pair of wins at Cornell, he posted a 0.96 goals-against average and a .968 save percentage. The Littleton, Col., native has helped steady a defense that was at times porous last season, especially down the stretch.

One other player worth mentioning in this space is North Dakota’s Bryn Chyzyk. The junior scored just four goals last season but already has two this year — the latest, of course, a shorthanded goal with seconds remaining in overtime against Air Force, with UND a man short after Brendan O’Donnell was sent off after a checking from behind major penalty. Chyzyk handled a terrific Michael Parks pass to slide the puck behind Air Force’s Chris Truehl. In doing so, UND heads to rival Wisconsin this weekend in good spirits and on a six-game unbeaten streak.

3. Miami’s goaltending… controversy?

Heading into the season, my guess was that Ryan McKay would outperform Jay Williams and take over the No. 1 position as the Miami netminder. Instead, Williams is 5-1-0 with a 2.02 goals-against average, and McKay is 0-2-0 with a 3.39 goals-against average. After back-to-back wins by Williams (a 2-1 OT win vs. St. Lawrence last week, then a Friday night win this past weekend vs. Minnesota-Duluth), Miami head coach Enrico Blasi went back to McKay, who took a 4-3 loss on Saturday night despite 36 saves. The game was tied midway through the third period until the Bulldogs’ Willie Raskob scored the game-winner.

Blasi has famously alternated goaltenders, with various duos, for much of the past decade, and that’s been the story for McKay and Williams — both juniors — for the majority of their career as well. Miami hosts Colorado College in a two-game set this weekend. One would imagine Williams would get the start on Friday. If he wins, does McKay get another chance Saturday? It’s essentially impossible to get an answer on the subject from Blasi, so we’re left to speculate.

Both goaltenders are, in truth, incredibly talented, and all accounts suggest that they both have been strong in practice. Time will tell if one starts to get the starting nods over the other.

Coming Soon

Check out CHN prior to this weekend’s games for features on St. Cloud’s lessons learned (from its incredible nonconference schedule against Colgate, Union, and Minnesota) and on Denver’s Danton Heinen.

Five Big Ten teams were in action this week, as the conference finished with a 5-4-1 record. Michigan lost both games to Michigan Tech, Michigan State split with Ferris State, Minnesota split with St. Cloud, Ohio State tied and beat Canisius and Penn State swept Bentley.

Like last week, I calculated Corsi stats for total and 5-on-5 play in each period of each game, which are listed below. This week I also paid more attention to Corsi Close, so Corsi in close-score situations (when there’s a one goal difference in the first two periods or when the game is tied). Those calculations are in the analysis paragraphs at the bottom.

Here are the Corsi stats: (more…)

The Ivy League schools finally saw their first action over the weekend and the results were mixed. The six prestigious schools went 2-2-5 in the first weekend of play. The results are always scattered for these schools and I will explain below. The weekend was a mix of results for league teams in non-conference. Quinnipiac picked up two wins against hapless, winless Northeastern, Brown picked up a win against Army, Yale defeated UConn to take home the Liberty Invitation, while Colgate split with Mercyhurst. All told, the league went 5-3-1 in true non-conference games over the weekend and hold the third best mark of all the conferences on the season at 22-18-3.

League teams played each-other in three games over the weekend. St. Lawrence picked up a win and a tie against arch-rival Clarkson. Kyle Hayton again stood on his head over the weekend, stopping 64 of the 66 shots he saw on the weekend. Yale and Princeton tied at the Liberty Invitational in the other matchup that featured two ECAC teams.

With the league season beginning in earnest last weekend, who would have thought that Rensselaer would come out of the weekend flying? Not me, but the Engineers surprisingly came out of nowhere to sweep Union to pick up two conference wins. Dartmouth and Harvard also skated to a 3-3 tie in an entertaining, exciting game of hockey at Harvard’s renovated Bright-Landry Hockey Center. This weekend will feature the first weekend of a full conference slate., as Yale, Quinnipiac, Brown, Princeton, Union and Rensselaer will all host games. We should get a better idea of which teams will be the ones to beat in the early going after this weekend. (more…)

It was an interesting week for college hockey, with a few top teams losing. Minnesota dropped its first game of the season, RPI swept Union and Providence handed Boston University its first loss of the season.

Penn State and Ohio State both faced AHA foes. The Nittany Lions swept Bentley 3-2 on both nights, while the Buckeyes tied Canisius 3-3 before winning 4-1. The victory was Ohio State’s first since the season opener. With the series sweep over Bentley, the Nittany Lions won their fourth game in a row.

The Wolverines ran into a powerhouse Michigan Tech team in Houghton, Mich., and dropped both games. The Huskies, who are starting to look like a contender, dropped a total 10 goals on the Wolverines in a 4-1 and 6-2 victory. The losses dropped Michigan to 2-5-0 on the season, and brings back questions of the team’s inconsistency.

Michigan State entered the weekend after dropped a pair of one-goal contests. In the first game against Ferris State, the Spartans fell 1-0. But on the second night, the Spartan offense contributed to a 4-1 victory. Travis Walsh, Mackenzie MacEachern, Villiam Haag and Matt Berry scored in the win.

The Gophers suffered dropped a 4-1 decision at St. Cloud State on Friday, Minnesota’s first loss of the season. The Gophers followed with a 4-3 win at home in overtime and have now won 15 straight games at Mariucci. Justin Kloos had a hat trick for Minnesota.

There are still a couple of weeks until Big Ten competition begins, but the Gophers have the best overall record at 5-1-0. At, 5-2-0, Penn State is right with them Each team has won at least two games save for the Badgers, who were idle last weekend.

It’s not early in the season anymore, but it’s been difficult to form opinions on several of these teams. Many have been inconsistent so far, which could create some interesting games when conference play starts.

(After the jump: Defensive problems, conference play questions and Michigan.)

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This week in the WCHA featured a number of teams looking to build on hot starts and a trio of non-conference match-ups before conference season kicks into full gear next weekend.

In non-conference play, the WCHA went 3-2-1 or 3-1-0, depending on whether or not you want to count the “non-conference” series between Northern Michigan and Alabama-Huntsville.

In the “match-up of the week” that I highlighted on Friday, No. 17 Michigan Tech trounced No. 15 Michigan, 4-1 and 6-2, in a statement-making sweep. The Huskies have been one of college hockey’s best surprises this season and, Ivy League teams notwithstanding, are the nation’s lone remaining undefeated team (6-0-0).

Elsewhere, No. 14 Ferris State managed a split on the road against Michigan State, despite its continued offensive woes. Bulldogs senior goaltender C.J. Motte pitched a 36-save shutout in a 1-0 win on Friday, before the Spartans got its own sputtering offense going Saturday in a 4-1 FSU loss.

In the weekend’s last “non-conference” series, WCHA members Northern Michigan battled Alabama-Huntsville to a 1-1 tie on Friday, before NMU triumphed, 4-1, in the finale to remain unbeaten (5-0-1) on the year. Sophomore forward Brock Maschmeyer lit the lamp twice to lift the Wildcats to Saturday’s win and sophomore goaltender Mathias Dahlstrom continued his strong start to the season, stopping 40 shots on the weekend to remain the leagues leader in goals against average (0.82) and save percentage (.964).

In WCHA league play, Bemidji State broke its three-game losing streak with a sweep of Alaska in its conference opener. The Beavers offense exploded for a 6-1 win on Friday, before junior forward Cory Ward played hero on Saturday, scoring the overtime winner in a 4-3 BSU win.

As they have each time they’ve played as conference foes, Minnesota State and Bowling Green split their series. Led by a hat trick from junior forward Bryce Gervais, the Mavericks took the opener, 5-2, before the Falcons salvaged the split on Saturday with two third period goals in a 3-1 win.

Finally, after falling 3-2 on Friday to start the season 0-9-0 – the program’s worst start in 15 years – Lake Superior State finally got into the win column, and split with Alaska Anchorage, with a 3-2 win courtesy of an overtime goal from junior forward Bryce Schmitt.

(After the jump: My WCHA Three Stars of the Week and three thoughts on what went down)

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Hamden, Ct. – Northeastern has struggled to this point scoring goals but tonight was a different story, as it ran into a team that has been struggling to keep pucks out of the net. The game was marred with penalties, including 34 PIMS in the second period combined. Northeastern opened the scoring at seven minutes, 45 seconds of the first period, when Mike Szmatula collected his own rebound in the slot putting it over the glove of Michael Garteig.Szmatula would follow that goal up with a power-play tally four minutes later to give the Huskies a 2-0 lead after a period.

The floodgates opened in second period but so did the penalty box, as the teams combined for 34 penalty minutes in the stanza. Landon Smith would open the scoring 23 seconds into the period and follow it up 10:29 to tie the game at two. NU would respond 31 seconds later to retake the lead on a Ryan Rosenthal goal. Andrew Taverner finished off the wild four goal period at 18:53 to send the game into the third tied at three.

The third period saw the teams trade chances, but Quinnipiac was the only to team to find the net. Sorren Jonzzon scored to make the game 4-3, which held for the Bobcat victory. Quinnipiac improves its record to 3-2-1 on the season, while Northeastern’s troubles continue at 0-6-0. Both teams will play conference games next weekend.

What I Saw

• Northeastern and Quinnipiac struggled to find rhythm, mainly caused by the amount of penalties that were called on both teams. All told 80 penalty minutes were called in the game and 10 power-plays were handed out. At five on five the game was played at a standstill, mainly because of the lack of flow.
• Quinnipiac outchanced Northeastern, but when NU had glorious chances it finished. This game had few nice saves, as the goalies stopped everything that should have been stopped and the defenses just struggled to cover the men left open in the slots. Whereas Quinipiac is struggling, NU is more so. The Bobcat defense still has holes and it showed tonight. as none of the goals were bad goals given up by its goalie. Michael Garteig still doesn’t bail his team out in goal, which has been problematic for QU.
• Northeastern has struggled to score, which has been mainly caused by possession problems. Tonight it was much of the same, but it wasn’t dominated by any means. The shots on goal were close but the amount of possession time was still controlled by QU. For them to get wins in the tough Hockey East, this will need to improve but it is not a new problem as it has been ongoing.

What I Thought

• Landon Smith was in the right places at the right time. To begin the second period, Rand Pecknold put him on the first line with Sam Anas and Matt Peca. It paid immediate dividends as the line scored on its first shift, 23 seconds into the period. Smith and Macmaster are both talented freshman forwards, but Smith proved he deserved a shot on the top line with his play tonight. His second goal, was a rebound goal in front of the net. His presence immediately turned the tide for the Bobcats.
• Northeastern is snake-bitten but isn’t doing itself any favors. After the a successful first period, the Huskies fell apart by taking penalties and just making small mistakes that caused the game to get away. They had chances to win the game and score but those chances are going by the wayside. For them to get off the schneid, their game will need to be simplified. Right now, it seems to be a case of holding the sticks tight and not getting the bounces in their favor.
• Mike Szmatula found the scoresheet twice in the game and Kevin Roy chipped in with two assists. The guys that Northeastern need to get scoring have begun to do so, which can only mean good things for NU. Entering the weekend, NU had scored a mere four goals in its four contests. This weekend the Huskies saw its first line come alive. Kevin Roy registered a goal and three assists to go along with the pair of genos scored by Szmatula tonight. It is a step in the right direction, but it wasn’t able to register the win.

What They Said 

Northeastern coach Jim Madigan said,

“Congratulations to Quinnipiac. They are a team that plays hard, is well coached and well balanced. In the third we felt good but they scored a goal. This is not where we want to be our how we drew it up, our record is our record. We need to get the monkey off our back.”

“When you’re not winning you need to do all the little things well. I thought we did more of that tonight with an emphasis on it but discipline is part of it.”

Quinnipiac coach Rand Pecknold said,

“We are ecstatic with the win tonight and the sweep on the weekend. It wasn’t our best hockey but to be down 2-0 and battle back, I liked our energy. We really showed a lot of compete.”

“We were flat in the first period, so we juggled a couple of lines. It works once in a while and it worked well tonight. Landon had started there at the beginning of the year. Landon gave us some jump on that line and that kind of energized Sam and Matt.”

Quinnipiac forward Landon Smith said,

They are two very good hockey players and I felt fortunate to be out there with them. I have really good chemistry with them, so hopefully we can continue that.” (In response to his move to the top line before the second period)

Quinnipiac forward Sam Anas said,

“The three of us worked well together, but I think the team needed a change. We needed to shake things up and try to get some momentum on our side. There was no way better to do that then a goal on the first shift.”

What Else You Should Know

Qunnipiac will host the two headed monsters of Colgate and Cornell next weekend. The confidence of this weekend should prove large heading into its first conference weekend, but it won’t be easy. Cornell is entering the weekend off a loss and a tie to Nebraska-Omaha, but should be pretty good with all the returning skaters in its roster. Colgate fell to 6-2-0 on the young season on Saturday in a 2-1 loss to Mercyhurst.

Things won’t get any easier for Northeastern as it will play UMass-Lowell in a home and home series next weekend. The Huskies are still winless and just need to get the proverbial monkey off the back.

Jim Madigan gave some injury updates after the game. Clay Witt’s timetable is up in the air, as Madigan said  “They are going day-to-day hopefully week to week.” Madigan also said, “Colton Saucerman is getting close and Snydeman is day-to-day.”

Cambridge, MASS – Harvard and Dartmouth entertained a near capacity crowd, 2734, at the newly renovated Bright-Hockey Center on Saturday night. Dartmouth would control the first 11 minutes of the contest and heavily outshoot the Crimson in the early going. The Big Green would score its first goal of the season at ten minutes, 53 seconds of the first period when Rick Pinkston sent a point shot to the net that found its way through. Harvard quickly answered a mere 14 seconds later when Alex Kerfoot retrieved his own rebound and put it past Dartmouth goalie, James Kruger. Dartmouth outshot Harvard 12-3 in the first 14 minutes of the game, then Harvard would go on to outshoot the Green 13-2 in the next 10 minutes

The Big Green and the Crimson would trade goals in the second period, as Patrick McNally would score early for Harvard followed by Eric Robinson and Brandon McNally for Dartmouth. The Crimson trailed 3-2 after two periods of play. Patrick McNally would add his second of the night at 9:50 of the third period on the game tying goal, which stood as the decision. The Crimson outshot the Green 37-32 in the game, which signified the flow of the game. Harvard goes to 0-0-1 on the season, 0-0-1 in ECAC play. Dartmouth also goes to 0-0-1, 0-0-1. The game marked the first game of the season for both Dartmouth and Harvard. (more…)

Durham, NH- Despite controlling the play for much of the first 40 minutes of play, Lowell was able to play consistent defense in front of its goaltender to take a 2-0 lead after two periods. The River Hawks opened the scoring at 16 minutes, 40 seconds of the first period when John Edwardh took a lively bounce off the board and put it into the open net. it was much of the same in the second period until Lowell again got a lively bounce to work in its favor. This time AJ White took a feed to the weak side and put it past Clark to give UML the 2-0 lead after two.

Lowell would look comfortable in third and continued to hold UNH to the outside areas of the Ice. UML improves its record to 4-1-1 on the year, 2-0-0 in Hockey East. UNH falls to 2-3-0, 0-1-0. UNH has yet to lose consecutive games, but haven’t put together a winning streak as such. Lowell has now won two games in a row for the second time this season. The Wildcats out-shot the River Hawks 34-17, but were unable to solve Kevin Boyle. (more…)

With several intriguing non-conference games again set for this weekend, the NCHC continues to ease into its conference schedule, with only one league series on tap again this week, this time with Minnesota-Duluth hosting surging Miami in a two-game set. It’s a notable series for many reasons and may be especially important for UMD, as the Bulldogs are a) looking for consistency after an up-and-down season that’s seen them alternate wins and losses (wins so far against Notre Dame and Denver), and b) without their senior captain Adam Krause, who’s out until December with a broken wrist.

That’ll mean even more pressure will rest on the shoulder pads of a pair of players honored as NCHC Players of the Week this week — junior forward Austin Farley, who had a pair of goals against Denver last week, and goaltender Kasimir Kaskisuo, the Bulldogs’ rookie Finnish goaltender who stopped 29 shots last Saturday in UMD’s 6-1 thrashing of Denver. And of course, there’s Dominic Toninato, whose six goals this season are tied for second best in the nation.

UMD welcomes a Miami team that has played five one-goal games in its first six contests already — winning four of those, the latest a dramatic 2-1 overtime win against St. Lawrence last weekend.  (more…)