Sunday, January 18, 2015

Conference Finals 1/17/15


More on Middlebury's huge non-conference weekend later, but first we start with the four NESCAC games from yesterday. 
Matthew Melanson celebrates Bowdoin's game winner in a
4-3 come from behind victory against Wesleyan.

Trinity (12-1-1; 7-0-1 NESCAC)    6
Colby (5-8-2; 2-6-2 NESCAC)       3
Box Score   Recap

Trinity's leading scorer, Ryan Cole (F, '17) had three points (2-1-3) and the Bantams went a perfect 2/2 on the power play en route to remaining the only unbeaten team in conference.  Liam McKillop (F, '15) put Trinity up 3-1 late in the first and the Mules would never to get within one. Nate Heilbron (G, '16) made 27 saves to move to 9-1-1 on the season while Emerson Verrier (G, '18) stopped 16 of 20 shots to fall to 0-6-1. Jordan Nathan (G, '15) relieved him in net for the third and stopped 10 of the 12 shots he saw.

Ultimately wins and losses are the only stats that matter, sure, but coaches,fans, pontificators, et. al. are always looking for more meaningful stats to evaluate performances. The average box score (goals,assists, saves, etc.) has value, but can be very limiting. The sabermetric revolution in baseball has trickled to other sports and the NHL has  Corsi and Fenwick (we have Fenwicks in the NESCAC, too) to try to have more meaningful and all-encompassing stats. This week, Colby assistant coach Chris Hall had a post about how he tries to evaluate the performance of  his Mules, including using absolute +/-. You should give it a read, or a looksie, or at least a gander.


 Conn College (6-6-2; 3-4-1 NESCAC)   1
Hamilton (5-5-4; 4-3-2 NESCAC)          3
Box Score  Recap

Conn College's Adam Patel (F, '15) got called for slashing with 1:40 remaining and Hamilton's Pat Curtis sealed the game with an empty net power play goal to complete the first four point weekend in Continental coach Rob Haberbusch's 3 1/2 year tenure.

Special teams were the decider in the third after the two teams ended the second tied at one. Marko Brelih (D, '15) put in an absolute snipe shot past Tom Conlin (G, '16) from the right point just eight seconds after the Continentals went on their first power play of the afternoon 7:41 into the final frame. It was  Brelih's fourth goal of the year, all on the power play. Less than three minutes later, the Continentals surrendered a five minute power play when Nicholas Vassos (F, '15) got whistled for a spearing call right off the faceoff. Hamilton had a stellar five minute penalty kill clogging lanes and dumping the puck down the ice. The Camels went 0/4 on the power play on the afternoon.

Conn College outshot Hamilton 31-19 with Conts frosh Tim Nowacki (G, '18) making 30 saves to earn his first collegiate win and move to 1-1-1 on the year. All four of the goalies on the Hamilton roster have now won a game this season. Starting goalie Evan Buitenhuis (G, '18) dressed for the first time since a November concussion against Utica, but did not play. The Continentals win gives them ten points - their total output in the 2013-14 season - in the first half of the season. With the Conts conceivably contending for a home playoff game, when do they bring back Buitenhuis from injury? Perhaps next week in their non-conference game against Franklin Pierce.

For Conn, the loss snaps a seven game unbeaten streak (5-0-2)  overall and a three game unbeaten streak in conference. Conlin stopped sixteen of the eighteen shots he faced to fall to 5-5-2 on the season.



Tufts (5-8-1;2-5-1 NESCAC)            2
Amherst (10-3-2; 6-3-0 NESCAC)   3 
Box Score   Recap 

David White (F, '18) scored two goals, including the game winner with 26 seconds remaining, to help lift Amherst past Tufts and rebound from the Jeffs third period collapse against Conn College on Friday. Mason Pulde (G, '18) made 37 saves in defeat to fall to 3-6-1 while Danny Vitale (G, '15) made 30 saves to improve to 3-2-2 on the season. Amherst starter Dave Cunningham (G, '15), who left the Conn College game in the third period due to injury, did not dress for the Jeffs.


Wesleyan (2-12-0; 1-7-0 NESCAC)    3
Bowdoin (8-4-2; 4-4-2 NESCAC)      4
Box Score  Recap  

Bowdoin scored four unanswered goals in the 2nd and 3rd period to erase a Wesleyan three goal lead after one period of play. The Polar Bears snapped their five game conference losing streak (04-1) without their three top scorers (Quinn, Lison, McGinnis) thanks to senior Tim Coffey (F ,'15) stepping up for two goals in the third period to tie it and Matthew Melanson (F, '18) putting in what proved to be the game winner 11:29 into the third. For the Cardinals, sophomore Quinn Oujevolk (F, '17) scored the first two goals of his collegiate career.

Besides the top three scorers being out, coach Terry Meagher broke his rotation by starting Max Fenkell (G, '15) in net back-to-back days. Fenkell gave up three goals on 12 shots and was relieved by Peter Cronin (G, '18) after the third Cardinals goal. Cronin stopped all 21 shots in 43:28 of action to improve to 3-2-1. Dawson Sprigings (G, '17) made 25 saves to fall to 2-10-0. For pictures of the game from Benet Pols, check out our Facebook album.


To win in this ultra competitive, wide open conference, Canadian and American boys must band together to become NESCAC men. Here's Canadian Dallas Green (Alexisonfire, City and Colour) and American pop star Pink, in their folk collaboration, You + Me, with "Open Door". 

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