2017-18 Wesleyan Men's Hockey Season Review

As we languish in the oblivion of the offseason, we will recap each team's season, as we are wont to do, from last to first. Next up is seventh place Wesleyan, who made big strides from the previous two seasons and who were one period away from their first ever NESCAC title game. 

7. Wesleyan Cardinals

2016-17 Reccord
7-7-4 in Conference (9th in NESCAC)
13-9-4 Overall

Dawson Sprigings finished his collegiate career with over 4,500
minutes played in net 

Stats:
Overall (Conf. Rank)                                          Conference Games (Conf. Ranks)
Offense - 3.08 G/GM (8th)                                                         Offense - 2.56 G/GM (6th)
Defense - 2.50 G/GM (5th)                                                         Defense - 2.72 G/GM (6th)
Power Play - 22/96 22.9% (3rd)                                              Power Play - 14/56 21.2% (3rd)
Penalty Kill - 76/83 91.6% (1st)                                             Penalty Kill - 48/52 92.3% (1st) 
Penalty Minutes - 7.9 /Gm (10th)                                               Penalty Minutes - 6.8/Gm (10th) 


Season Review
James Kline was the only Cardinal to reach double digit goals in his sophomore and junior seasons. The Pittsburgh native (I will not make Jesse Root jokes, I will not make Jesse Root jokes, I will not make Jesse Root jokes...) failed to reach double digit goals in his senior season, but it was actually a positive development.

Kline and Jay Matthews ('16) combined for 37% and 38% of team goals in 2014-15 and 20015-16, respectively. In 2016-17, no two teammates combined for more than 22.5% of Wesleyan's goals. Kline still tied for the team lead in goals with nine, but it was a four-way tie along with freshman Cam Walker (NESCAC Rookie of the Year), and juniors Dylan Holze and Cam McCusker. The extra help actually led to Kline's highest single season point total thanks to 17 assists (9-17-26).

Second on the team in assists was two-sport athlete Chad Malinowski (D, '19), who had nineteen points (4-15-19) and earned both a spot on the All-NESCAC Second Team as well as a D-III All-New England nod.

The increased help was not limited to the offensive end. Senior Dawson Sprigings, who played in 77 games during his four years in central Connecticut, still received the bulk of the minutes in 2016-17, but sophomore George Blinicki emerged as a weekend rotation option in the second half of the season. The Berkshire product went from no collegiate experience to a .944 Save Percentage and 1.66 GAA in nine games. Most of this, however, had to do with three shutouts in non-conference games, but he still posted a decent .922 save % and 2.48 GAA in conference games.

Another stark increase occurred on special teams, which Wesleyan flipped from one of the worst in the 'Cac in both power play and penalty kill in the previous season to the third best power play and league best penalty kill this past season. They actually doubled their power play goal tally in conference games from seven in 2015-16 to fourteen in 2016-17.

The Cardinals didn't face a murders' row in out-of-conference games, but they took care of business with five wins over weaker competition (Southern Maine, Assumption, Stonehill, Franklin Pierce and Castleton) and the lone loss coming to perennial D-III powerhouse Plattsburgh.

A strong non-conference showing helped the Cardinals reach 13 wins for the first time  since 1988-89 season, when none of the current players had even been born and the then Wesleyan coach was part of today's rink's namesake (Dave Synder, the Synder in Spurrier-Snyder Rink).

In conference they may have finished seventh but they were in the hunt for a home playoff game up until they lost three straight to end the regular season. Despite this, Wesleyan ended with the coveted "Little Three" title (head-to-head record between Wesleyan, Williams and Amherst dating back to the Triangular League in the late 1890s) for the first time in 30 years, thanks to a 2-1-1 record (1-0-1 against Amherst and 1-1-0 against Williams) in the battle of the mini triumvirate. The win in hockey capped off a first for Cardinal athletics: a Little Three title in football,hockey and basketball in the same academic year.


High Point
The playoffs. It was a tale of two 5-4 games for the Cardinals, who reached the semis for the NESCAC semis for the first time since 2011 and nearly made the finals for the first time in program history.  In  the quarters, the seventh seed Cardinals traveled to Waterville, ME, where they had battled to a 4-4 tie with the second seed Cardinals just over a month prior. As with the regular season contest, neither team had a more than one goal lead, only this time Wesleyan got one more tit than the host's tat thanks to a Luke Babcock goal setup by a Kline feed just 12 seconds after Colby tied it 49 seconds into the third.

The third line was the difference that day in Maine with Holze, Spencer Fox and frosh Tyler Watt accounting for the scoring on Wesleyan's three second period goals. For Holze, his three point effort (2-1-3) earned him NESCAC Player of the Week honors headed into the semifinal showdown with top seeded Hamilton.

The underdog Cardinals had a 3-1 lead in the second period against Hamilton thanks to capitalizing on some defensive miscues from the Continentals, including mistakes by NESCAC/DIII Player of the Year goalie Evan Butienhuis. Four different Cardinals scored, but the hosts eventually came out on top 5-4. Despite the loss, the Cardinals five seniors got to end a career that had been less than ideal on a proud note and the young Cardinals showed flashes that augur well for next season.

Low Point 
The NESCAC regular season schedule ends with travel partners Wesleyan and Trinity playing a home and home. The Bantams have not just owned this rivalry, they have absolutely obliterated the Cardinals in recent memory. This year was no different with Trinity blasting Wesleyan 7-2 and 3-0 to close out regular season play.

MVP
James Kline  Malinowski got the awards but we'll give the nod this year to Kline for his captainship and for providing offensive firepower to an anemic offense in the prior few seasons.

The other MVP comes from  Team IMPACT, one of our favorite programs several NESCAC schools participate in. At the end of January, Wesleyan drafted nine-year old Connor Albert, who was diagnosed with Osteosarcoma (type of bone cancer) in 2016. Albert's treatments have included hip replacement surgery and long rounds of chemo that require inpatient stays. Prior to his signing day at Wesleyan, several members of the team visited Albert in the hospital.

Below please find the video of Connor's draft day and please consider giving or contributing to Team IMPACT here.  It's a great experience for the kids involved and though it sounds like a cliche, it is absolutely true that the athletes probably get more out of it than the kids.




In honor of young Connor and the underclassmen like NESCAC Rookie of the Year McCusker, who hope to help Wesleyan keep rising in the standings next year, here's Alexisonfire's excellent "Young Cardinals"

2015-16 Wesleyan Men's Hockey Season in Review

As we enter the 2015-16 academic calendar and the fall athletic season, we are reviewing the 2015-16 campaigns for each of the NESCAC men's hockey teams from #10 to #1.  Next up is ninth place Wesleyan. For #10 Conn College scroll down or click here 

9. Wesleyan Cardinals

2015-16 Reccord
2-9-7 in Conference (9th in NESCAC)
2-14-8 Overall

Dawson Sprigings was tested early and often in net for the Cards

Stats:
Overall (Conf. Rank)                                          Conference Games (Conf. Ranks)
Offense - 2.17 G/GM (9th)                                                         Offense - 2.17 G/GM (8th)
Defense - 3.58 G/GM (9th)                                                         Defense - 3.17 G/GM (9th)
Power Play - 10/80 12.5% (10th)                                              Power Play - 7/51 13.7% (7th)
Penalty Kill - 56/71 78.9% (10th)                                             Penalty Kill - 39/48 81.2% (9th) 
Penalty Minutes - 7.4 /Gm (9th)                                               Penalty Minutes - 6.9 /Gm (8th) 


Season Review
The good news for Wesleyan heading into 2015-16 was that they had nowhere to go but up. The 2014-15 rendition of the ice Cardinals went 3-21 overall and 2-16 in conference, good enough for last in the NESCAC.

Things were a bit different - if not much better in the final standings - in 2015-16. Coach Potter's players went from 0 tied in 24 games the season before to seven in conference this past season, enough to keep them in playoff contention all season.

Some of the same problems from years past, however, continued to hamper Wesleyan. In 2014-15, then sophomore James Kline and junior Jay Matthews combined for 18 of the team's 47 goals (38%) with no other Cardinal scoring more than four goals. A year later, Kline and Matthews combined for 20 of the team's 52 goals (38%) with only 14 goals coming from underclassmen. In net, junior Dawson Sprigings served as the team work horse, playing in 21 of 24 games and logging 1228 minutes to the tune of a pedestrian 3.18 GAA and sub .900 save percentage (.893).

High Point
When your season only contains two wins and they come in a three game stretch, that will likely be your high point. The second of the two wins, which came at home on January 30th, was the true apex of the season. A goal by senior Jaren Taenaka in the final two mintues of regulation lifted Wesleyan past Amherst for the first time since Barack Obama was President Elect of the United States of America. The Cardinals sat at 2-3-6 in the NESCAC at that point and in the thick of the playoff hunt.

Low Point 
And what followed when the Cardinals reached the Icarian height of beating the Purple and White for the first time since 2008? An 0-6-1 stretch, including five straight loses to end the season, the last four of which saw the Cardinals let up 5+ goals. WELP.

MVP
James Kline ('17) - For the second straight season, Pittsburgh native Jesse Root  James Kline was the only Wesleyan player to reach double digits in goals scored. Kline had seventeen points (12-5-17), 15 of which (10-5-15) came in conference.

2015-2016 Wesleyan Hockey Captains Robby Harbison '17, Jay Matthews '16, Eric Casey '16, James Kline '17 pic.twitter.com/HOcptas4hY

— Chris Potter (@WesleyanHockey) November 13, 2015

NESCAC Quarterfinals: #8 Wesleyan at #1 Trinity 3PM Saturday 3/1/14

Who: #8.Wesleyan University Cardinals (10-11-2; 6-11-1 NESCAC) at #3.Trinity College Bantams (20-4-0; 15-3-0)
Where: Koeppel Center  Hartford CT
When: 3 PM Saturday 3/1/14
Video/Audio: Trinity Live Stream  Live Stats

Overall  (Conference Rank)             Conference Games (conf. rank)
Offense: 3.33 G/GM (3rd)                                Offense: 2.94 G/GM (4th)

Defense: 3.21 G/GM (7th)                                Defense: 3.50 G/GM (8th)

Power Play: 14/93 -15.1% (9th)                      Power Play: 10/71 -14.1% (8th) 

Penalty Kill: 67/93 - 72% (10th)                      Penalty Kill: 51/73 - 69.9% (10th)

Special Teams Net  -11 (10th)                        Special Teams Net  -13 (10th)

Overall  (Conference Rank)             Conference Games (conf. rank)
Offense: 4.50 G/GM (1st)                                 Offense: 4.28 G/GM (1st)

Defense: 2.50 G/GM (3rd)                                Defense: 2.50 G/GM (3rd)
 Power Play: 39/130-30.0% (1st)                      Power Play: 23/89 -25.8% (1st)   
Penalty Kill: 71/91 78% (8th)                           Penalty Kill: 50/64 78.1% (8th)

Special Teams Net: +17 (1st)                           Special Teams Net: +6 (3rd)

The Lowdown

For the second straight year, the Bantams and Cardinals - with campuses separated by less than 20 miles - will play in the NESCAC Quarterfinals after completing the regular season with two games against one another. Last year, the two teams split the regular season finale before meeting in Hartford for the #3/#6 playoff matchup. Trinity won, 5-4, in OT on game tying and game winning goals by Mike Hawkrigg (F, '16).

This year, the nationally ranked Bantams swept the regular season season series with the Cardinals, 2-0 and 8-5, to clinch the first seed and set up the rivalry #1/#8 game with Wesleyan. The Cards don't have to look back too far in time to find encouraging historical evidence of their chance in such a game. #8 Wesleyan defeated #1 Hamilton back in 2011. 

At this point, it's do or die for everyone's season. But the Bantams have a twofold path to the 11 team NCAA tournament, both of which involving winning today. Trinity topped the east region in the second of three NCAA regional rankings this week. A Bantams loss is the NESCAC finals would make them likely candidates for one of the three Pool-C "at large' bids to the NCAA tourney. 

Key(s) to the game

When a team wins 20 of 24 game, it is hard to find any kind of patterns on how to beat them. Trinity has won games with offense, thanks to having the three highest point scorers nationally in D-III hockey, and they have won games on the other end with the goaltending of Concannon semifinalist Ben Coulthard (G, '14).  

You might think keeping Trinity off of their nation leading power play would be a key, which, yes, it is a key to limit penalties in any game. But the Bantams actually had at least five power play opportunities in each of their four losses this season. Coach Matt Greason's squad was uncharacteristically anemic in the ample opportunities they had in those four games, going 3-31 on the man advantage, which probably speaks more to good goaltending than anything else.

In the preview he did for us last year for the Bowdoin/Utica NCAA quarterfinal, Colby assistant coach Chris Hall said playoff hockey usually comes down to goaltending and experience. In this case, it might not just be the experience of the players, but the fact that this is the third game in nine days between the Nutmeg State rivals. 

Players to watch 

Dawson Sprigings (G, Fr.) The Cardinals will likely need the freshman from Toronto to have a performance similar to last weekend's 46 save effort against the Bantams in order for the Cardinals to be playing hockey next week. 

Mike Hawkrigg (F, '16) The Toronto native had the OT heroics as a freshman last year. What will the nation's leading goal scorer (20-26-46) do for an encore this year? 


Third meeting in nine days. I feel like we've been here before with these two...

Conference Preview 1/17/14

All ten teams are in action with four conference games and Williams hosting Manhattanville (watch here) and Middlebury hosting third ranked Plattsburgh (watch here) in non-conference action. 

Hamilton Continentals 3-7-1 (2-5-1 NESCAC) at Tufts Jumbos 3-9-0 (1-5-0 NESCAC)
Malden Valley Forum II   Madlen, MA
7:00 PM    Video

Hamilton comes into the game still looking for their first win of 2014 and their first road NESCAC points of the season. The Continentals are 0-4 since the turn of the calendar with two losses in the Buck Supply Classic and a pair of loses to Bowdoin and Colby in Maine last weekend. Tufts comes into the contest looking for their first home win of the 2013-14 season (0-4). It will be the first NESCAC contest of 2014 for the Jumbos as they lost to Southern New Hampshire in OT in the opening round of the Codfish Bowl before splitting a pair against Suffolk with a win in the consolation game of the Codfish Bowl followed by a loss at Malden Valley Forum.

The teams last met in February of 2013 at Conn College's Dayton Arena with the Jumbos downing the Conts, 6-4, for their last win of the 2012-13 season. The game was moved from Malden Valley Forum to Conn College due to the inclement weather of winterstorm Nemo.

Brian Phillips (G, '14) made 43 saves in that contest to earn the victory. Phillips has only played five minute this season since going down with a leg injury five minutes into the second game of the season on November 16, 2013. Freshman Ryan Kellenberger (G, '17) has played the vast majority of minutes since, though senior Greg Jenkins (G, '14) did make 33 saves and got a win in his first career start on January 5th against Suffolk. He then gave up five goals in the first five mintues in the rematch against Suffolk and was pulled after the first period for Kellenberger. With The Tufts Daily reporting that Phillips may be back soon, it's anybody's guess who will start between the pipe tonight for the Jumbos.

Hamilton has their own goalie concerns as well. Veteran work horse Joe Quattrrocchi (G, '14) was injured with a leg injury early in the loss to Bowdoin last Friday and was replaced by fershman Charlie Fennell (G, '14). The Conts third goalie, Zach Arnold (G, '15), had his season long recovery from injury expedited by the Quattrrocchi injury as Arnold dressed between the first and second periods. Fennell, who is 1-3-0 on the season with a .889 Save% and 3.06 Goals Against Average, should make the start tonight. Arnold is still looking for his first minutes as a collegiate goaltender.


Colby Mules 7-4-3 (4-3-1 NESCAC) at Wesleyan Cardinals 7-4-1 (2-4-0 NESCAC) 
Spurrier-Snyder Rink   Middletown, CT
7:00 PM

No video for this one, as Wescast won't do their first webcast of the season until tomorrow's game against Bowdoin. So you won't see the Mules enter the Nutmeg state after a big four point weekend at home with wins over Amherst and Hamilton. You won't see the host Cardinals, either, who have a respectable 7-4-1 record thanks to an undefeated mark in non-conference games (5-0-1). In conference, however, the Cardinals have lost four straight, including two last weekend to Williams and Middlebury. They were blanked, 5-0, at Middlebury, ending freshman Elliott Vorel (F,'17)'s 11 game point streak to start the season.

The teams last met in February of 2013 at Phillips Exeter Academy in a Wesleyan home game that was re-scheduled and moved due to winterstorm Nemo. The Mules took the game, 4-2, and Nick Lanza (F,'14) had two goals and an assist on the evening.

It will be interesting to see how Wesleyan fares in their first NESCAC home game since opening weekend. The four straight 'Cac losses have been on the road and Wesleyan has a 6-0-1 mark at Snyder overall. It's also Colby's first NESCAC road game since a November 22nd win at Bowdoin that silenced the Polar Bear faithful. Overall, Colby is 1-2-2 on the road and 1-2-1 in games outside of Maine.


Amherst Lord Jeffs 7-5-0 (5-3-0) at Conn College Camels 2-9-1 (1-5-0) 
Dayton Arena   New London, CT 
7:00 PM

A trip to Connecticut and suburban Boston this weekend might be just the ticket for the once nationally ranked Lord Jeffs. After starting out the season 5-0, the Lord Jeffs have gone 2-5-0 in their last seven, including dropping their last three. Conn's trends have also been five and seven games, but the reverse. After starting the season 0-7, the Camels have gone 2-2-1 in their last five, including a big road win at Bowdoin in early December. This will be the first NESCAC game of 2014 for Conn College.

The teams last met in February of 2013 at Dayton Arena with the Lord Jeffs taking the contest 4-2. Conn College last beat Amherst on Thanksgiving weekend of 2008 at Dayton Arena in the opening game of the Douglas W. Roberts Tournament, named after Conn College program founder and former NHL player Doug Roberts.

This game features two of the lowest scoring teams in the NESCAC with Amherst coming in at 2.88 goals per game in conference (2.67 overall) and Conn College doing even worse with 2.67 per game (2.17 overall). Amherst's success has never been predicated on high scoring, but their once staunch defense and goaltending has fallen by the wayside recently with four or more goals allowed in their last three games.

The Lord Jeffs can live with the fact that no one on their team is in double digit points (though five five have seven or more) if Dave Cunningham (G, '16) can return to form. It hasn't helped matters  that their two leading goal scorers (with 5 goals), sophomores Conor Brown (F, '16) and Brendan Burke (F, '16), have been limited to three games played between the two of them since the turn of the calendar. For Conn College, after JC Cangelosi F, '15)'s 15 points (6-9-15) and Keith Veronesi (F, '14)'s seven (4-3-7), no one on the team has more than five.


Bowdoin Polar Bears 8-3-2 (4-3-1 NESCAC) at Trinity Bantams 9-3-0 (4-2-0 NESCAC) 
Koeppel Center   Hartford, CT
7:30 PM   Video 

In the marquee conference matchup of the evening, the resurgent Polar Bears invade Hartford for their first game outside of the state of Maine since an opening weekend loss to Williams. Bowdoin left the Prine Tree State on a happy note, beating Hamilton and Amherst in conference play last week. Trinity enters the game after a two win weekend over Middlebury and non-conference Becker after blowing a 2-0 lead after two periods at Frozen Fenway to lose 4-2 to Williams.

The teams last met in February 2013 in a weird post-final-regular-season-weekend game at The Brooks School thanks to our good friend Nemo. Trinity, needing the game to secure the third in the NESCAC playoffs, beat an already first seeded Bowdoin  team 10-5 for Bowdoin's third loss of the 2012-13 season.

On the injury front, Bowdoin is still waiting for Ollie Koo (D/F, '14) to play in his first game since a November 23rd loss to Colby. Expect Ben Coulthard (G, '14) in net for Trinity and  Max Fenkell (G, '15) for Bowdoin as part of Coach Meagher's normal weekend rotation. Fenkell will have his hands full with the Bantams, the only team in the 'Cac to have three twenty point scorers in Jackson Brewer (F, '15), Mike Hawkrigg (F, '16) and Ryan Cole (F, '17).

After tonight, Amherst, Bowdoin, Colby and Hamilton will be halfway through their 18 game NESCAC schedule. In honor of this we present Soundgarden's "Halfway There," the tenth track off 2012's King Animal, the Seattle grunge band's sixth studio album and first since 1996. The music video for the song has Chris Cornell as an astronaut traversing what appears to be a wormhole because YOLO?

Conference Roundup 1/11/14

Hamilton Continentals 3-7-1 (2-5-1 NESCAC)      1
Colby Mules 7-4-3 (4-3-1 NESCAC)                   2

It was over when...: Colby survived two Hamilton power plays in the second half of the third period to hold on for a four point NESCAC weekend after beating Amherst on Friday. Colby took a 2-0 lead into the third after a goal each in the 1st (Devin Albert) and 2nd (Ben Cwick) periods. Hamilton cut the lead in half  5:57 into the third on a short-handed goal by Truman Landowski (F, '17), the first of his college career and the Conts fourth short-handed tally of the season. Overall, neither team scored on 17 power play attempts, as Colby went 0-9 and Hamilton went 0-6.

Though the Continentals did not allow a power play goal thanks to the third best penalty kill in the NESCAC (55/65- 84.6%), penalties have killed any sense of rhythm the team has had in their recent four game losing streak. In the last three games (Willliams, Bowdoin, Colby), Hamilton has surrendered a total of 26 power plays to opponents. In both league games (19.2 PIM per game) and overall (18.6), Rob Haberbusch's squad is the most penalized team in the 'Cac.

Charlie Fennell (G, '17), who replaced  Joe Quattrocchi (G, '14) in the first period of Friday's loss to Bowdoin after a leg injury, made 20 saves in defeat to fall to 1-3-0 on the season. Sam Parker (G, '15) made 21 saves to improve to 6-4-2 on the year.

Player of the game: Ben Chwick (F, '14) In a low-scoring, low-shot affair despite 17 penalties, Chwick scored what proved to the be the game winning goal for his team leading 18th point (9-9-18) of the season.

Box Score: Hamilton 1/Colby 2                Colby Recap 


Amherst Lord Jeffs 7-5-0 (5-3-0 NESCAC)             2
Bowdoin Polar Bears 8-3-2 (4-3-1 NESCAC)      4

It was over when...: Bowdoin scored two short-handed goals (Matt Rubinoff, Harry Matheson) on the same Amherst power play in the third to break open a 2-2 tie. The Lord Jeffs were 1/7 on the man advantage for the afternoon while the Polar Bears couldn't score on any of their power play opportunities.

Amherst outshot Bowdoin, 38-25, but Steve Messina (G, '14) came up big with 36 saves to improve to 5-2-0 on the season. Dave Cunningham, who was impressive at the beginning of the season, made 21 saves to fall to 5-5-0 on the year. In his first seven starts, Cunningham gave up only one or two goals in each outing; in his last three, he has given up four or five in each contest.

Amherst, who started the season at 5-0, is now 2-5 in their last seven games, including 1-3 in their last four conference games. Defending NESCAC champion Bowdoin, who started out the season a disappointing 4-3-1, is now 4-0-1 in their last five, including 3-0 in the NESCAC in that stretch.

Player of the game: Harry Matheson (F, '14) The senior from Kingston, Ontario set up the first short handed goal and scored the second short-handed goal that broke the 2-2 deadlock and gave the Polar Bears some breathing room, respectively.

Box Score: Amherst 2/Bowdoin 4         Bowdoin Recap (includes video highlights) 


Wesleyan Cardinals 7-4-1 (2-4-0 NESCAC)           0
Middlebury Panthers 6-4-2 (4-3-1 NESCAC)       5

It was over when....: Ben Wiggins (D, '14) scored his second goal of the game 1:38 into the third to extend the Panther lead to 4-0. It was the first two tallies of the season for the senior from Cambridge, MA, and the first multi-goal game of his college career. Wiggins goals were the only two non-power play goals of the evening, as the best power play in conference action (15/51; 29.4%) went 3/7 on the evening. The Cardinals were 0/5 on the man advantage.

The loss snaps a three game losing streak in conference for the Panthers and extends the Wesleyan losing streak in conference play to four games. Wesleyan entered weekend play with a six game unbeaten streak (5-0-1), but all games came in non-conference action. The Cards lost to Hamilton and Amherst in late November then were swept by Williams and Middlebury in the first weekend of conference action in 2014. 0 goals means Wesleyan freshman Elliot Vorel (F, '17)'s  magical 11 game points streak to start his college career is over.

Dawson Sprigings (G, '17) made 33 saves in defeat while Nick BonDurant (G, '14) made 25 saves to improve to 2-2-0 and earn the Panthers first shutout of the season. The blanking is only the second of the senior Macedon, NY's career and his first since tying Plattsburgh, 0-0, in November of 2011.

Middlebury honored members of the 2004 NCAA Championship team - - one of eight national championship teams for Middlebury ('95-'99, '04-'06)-- between the first and second periods. The members of the '04 team also presented coach Bill Beaney with a chair commemorating his 500th win as coach of the Panthers, which he earned the previous weekend in the Panthers 3-1 win over Neumann in the finals of the Middlebury Holiday Classic.

Player of the game: Middlebury seniors - Nick BonDurant (G, '14) earned his first shutout in over two years and Ben Wiggins (D, '14) scored his first two goals of the season.

Box Score: Wesleyan 0/Middlebury 5                 Middlebury recap 

Conference Roundup: 1/10/14

Wesleyan Cardinals 7-3-1 (2-3-0 NESCAC)    2
Williams Ephs    8-1-2 (6-0-2 NESCAC)         3

It was over when...: The Ephs kept the puck in the Cardinals end in the final minute and Wesleyan was unable to pull goalie Dawson Sprigings (G, '17) until 21 seconds remained. Sprigings made 35 saves in defeat while Sean Dougherty (G, '15) stopped 27 pucks for the victory. For Wesleyan, Keith Buehler (F, '14)'s goal in the second period was the 100th point of his college career and freshman Elliot Vorel (F, '17) extended his points streak to 11 to open his college career with an assist in the third period.

The Ephs remain the only unbeaten team in NESCAC play and with the Amherst loss has a four point cushion on their throne for the time being. The Ephs head to Rhode Island for a Saturday afternoon matinee with Johnon and Wales, a team which includes Ephs coach Bill Kangas son on the roster. Wesleyan heads north to face Williams.

Player of the game: Frankie Mork (D, '17) The freshman from Victoria, MN had a nice individual effort on the 2-1 go ahead goal in the third period and had his shot re-directed on the game winning goal for an assist and a two point evening (1-1-2).

Box Score: Wesleyan 2/Williams 3    D3Hockey.com Recap


Hamilton Continentals 3-6-1 (2-4-1 NESCAC)    3
Bowdoin Polar Bears 7-3-2 (3-3-1 NESCAC)     7

It was over when...: Bowdoin scored three goals in the final minute to blow open a 4-3 game. Bowdoin had opened a commanding 3-0 lead 6:45 into the second period and shortly after had a five minute power play on a Continental major that included two full minutes of 5-3 action. The Conts, who lost starting goalie Joe Quattrocchi to injury just four minutes into the game, fought back to make it 3-2 and 4-3 before ultimately unravelling in the final minute.

Two of those last minute goals were given up by freshman netminder Charlie Fennell (G, 17). Before losing his composure at the end, Fennell looked pretty solid in net despite the score and finished the night with 26 saves. His counterpart Max Fenkell (G, '15) made 27 saves in victory.

Player of the game: Colin Downey (F/D, '14) The senior from East Sandwich, MA put in an empty netter for his first career hat-trick and like Wesleyan's Buehler, Downey gained entrance to the hallowed 100 point club.

Box Score: Hamilton 3/Bowdoin 7       Bowdoin Recap


Amherst Lord Jeffs 7-4-0 (5-2-0 NESCAC)    2
Colby Mules 6-4-3 (3-3-1 NESCAC)               5

It was over when...: Colby scored four unanswered goals between the end of the first and the final minute of the third to defeat Amherst and move into a threeway tie for fourth in the NESCAC with Middlebury and Bowdoin. Dave Cunningham (G, '16) made 27 saves in the loss and falls to 5-4-0, while Sam Parker made 29 saves for the victory to improve to 5-4-2. Amherst, who had not allowed more than two goals in any of their first eight games, has allowed three or more in their last three.

The Lord Jeffs travel to Brunswick on Saturday to faceoff with Bowdoin in a game that will feature brothers Andrew Fenwick (Amherst, '15) vs Chris Fenwick (Bowdoin, '16). Andrew scored the first goal of the game against the Mules but lost to brother Scott Fenwick (F, '17), a freshman forward on Colby. The Mules host Hamilton today in the Norm Bazin six degrees of 'Cac separation game of the week. Norm Bazin preceded Hamilton coach Rob Haberbusch as Continentals coach and replaced current Colby coach Blaise MacDonald as the coach of the Division-I UMass-Lowell River Hawks.

Player of the game: Tyler Lingel (F, '16) Scored a goal and added an empty netter for the first multi-goal game of the South Glens Falls, NY native's college career.

Box Score: Amherst 2/Colby 5     Colby Recap 


Trinity Bantams 8-3-0 (4-2-0 NESCAC)            6
Middlebury Panthers 5-4-2 (3-3-1 NESCAC)    3

It was over when...: Trinity took a 6-1 lead halfway through the second period on Liam Mckillop (F, '15)'s second tally of the season.  Despite the score, the Panthers actually outshot the Bantams 41-24. Middlebury freshman Drew Michals (G, '17) got the start in net and gave up three goals on 11 shots in the first period. He was replaced by Nick BonDurant (G, '14), who gave up three goals on thirteen shots. On the other end, Ben Coulthard (G, '14) made 38 saves for the victory.

Trinity doesn't have another conference game this week due to Tuesday's Frozen Fenway game. The Bantams do have a makeup game, postponed from last week due to winterstorm Hercules, against lowly Becker College (1-9-2), whose only win came against Tufts. Middlebury looks to get back on track in a league matchup when they welcome Wesleyan into Kenyon Arena.

Player of the game: Sean Orlando (F, '17) Scored his team leading tenth and 11th goals of the season an added an assist for a nice three point night (2-1-3).

Box Score: Trinity 6/Middlebury 3     Trinity Recap   Middlebury Recap 

Conference Preview: 1/10/14

After a week of Holiday tournaments, non-conference games and Frozen Fenway excitement, we have our first full night of conference games since December 7th. The only teams not playing are Tufts and Conn College. 

The Fenwick Brothers: Chris (38), Scott (28), Andrew (15)
will play each other this weekend. 

Wesleyan Cardinals 7-2-1 (2-2-0 NESCAC) at Williams Ephs 7-1-2 (5-0-2 NESCAC) 
Chapman Rink   Williamstown, MA
7:00 PM      Video 

The first place Ephs  come back indoors after preserving their unbeaten NESCAC  record with a come from behind win against Trinity at Frozen Fenway on Tuesday. The Cardinals come into the game on a six game unbeaten streak (5-0-1), all in non-conference games. Wesleyan actually has a two game losing streak in conference with road losses to Hamilton and Amherst when they last played in-conference in late November.

The matchup features the best statistical offense in the NESCAC in Wesleyan (4.30 goals per game) vs the best statistical defense(tied with Amherst) in the NESCAC in Williams (1.70 goals per game). The Cards are powered in large part by freshman phenom Elliot Vorel (F, '17), who has 22 points (11-11-22) and a ten game points streak to open his college career. The Ephs are led by junior netminder Sean Dougherty (G, '15), who has a .946 Save%, 1.53 Goals Against Average (GAA) and 6-1-2 record in nine games.

The teams last met in February of 2012 at Chapman Rink and skated to a 0-0 tie. Dougherty had 26 saves and then freshman netminder Nolan Daley (G, '16) stood on his head for 46 saves to earn the tie.


Hamilton Continentals 3-5-1 (2-3-1) at Bowdoin Polar Bears -3-2 (2-3-1) 
Sidney Watson Arena   Brunswick, ME
7:00 PM   Video   Live Stats 

Hamilton travels to Maine having lost both of their games in the Buck Supply Classic hosted by Plattsburgh last weekend. The Continentals dropped the opening round game against then top ranked Plattsburgh before falling to Williams in OT of the consolation game, a contest that Hamilton led with just twelve seconds to go. The Conts played last weekend and will play this weekend without two of their top defenseman: Bennett Schneider (D, '13.5), whom they lost to graduation, and Marko Brelih (D, '16), whom they lost to injury.

The Polar Bears, who come into the game off a 4-3 win over in-state University of New England, are no strangers to injuries to their top players. Kyle Lockwood (D/F, '15) played on Tuesday for the first time since the rivalry series against Colby in November and last year's leading scorer, Ollie Koo (D/F. '14) has been out since the Colby series as well. According to NSN Sports Bowdoin announcer Rob Kennedy, Koo has been skating, so we'll see if that means he is back tonight.

In the absence of Koo, fellow senior Colin Downey (F/D, '14) has assumed the role as top scorer with 17 points (7-10-17).  The East Sandwich, MA native sits just three points (33-64-97) from joining the hollowed 100 point club.

The teams last met in the 2013 NESCAC Quarterfinals at the Sid. Lockwood had a hat-trick and Bowdoin scored three unanswered third period goals to win 5-3 in a game in which Hamilton had a surprising 3-1 lead after two periods. The Conts were without their top player, Mike Dimare (F. '14), in that game, who had only six points (2-4-6) in 14 injury plagued games last season. The senior from Medford, MA has returned with a vengeance this year and lead the team with 18 points (7-11-18).


Amherst Lord Jeffs 7-3-0 (5-1-0) at Colby Mules 5-4-3 (2-3-1) 
Alfond Rink  Waterville, ME
7:00 PM  Video 

The Lord Jeffs enter the game after a 5-1 loss to Norwich in the finals of the Cadets' Northfield Savings Bank Tournament last weekend. Colby tied University of Southern Maine -- Bowdoin also tied the Huskies in Gorham - on Tuesday after blowing a 2-0 first period lead last saturday to lose to Babson in the finals of the Salem State/Babson tournament.

Amherst has the stingiest defense in the 'Cac statistically in conference games (1.17 goals allowed per game) and the Jeffs are tied with Williams for the best defense overall (1.70 goals allowed per game).Last weekend's 4-3 win over Plymouth State in the first round and 5-1 loss to Norwich in the finals were the first two games that Coach Jack Arena's squad gave up more than two goals in a game all season. Colby is in the middle of the pack in scoring overall, but has a conference worst 2.17 goals scored per game in conference affairs.

It will be interesting to see how Amherst goalie Dave Cunningham (G, '16) responds after giving up five goals to Norwich last weekend. His 1.76 GAA still ranks 12th in the nation and his .932 Save% is good enough for 11th in all of D-III as well.

The teams last met in February 2013 at Alfond. The Mules scored three unanswered goals in the third to erase a 3-0 deficit to earn a tie. Ben Chwick (F, '14) had a goal in that game and is currently tied for the Mules lead in points with 15 (7-8-15). Chwick's next goal will set a career record for tallies in a season.

Tonight marks the first time Colby freshman Scott Fenwick (F, '17) will play against his brother, Amherst  junior Andrew Fenwick (F, '15). Andrew will travel with the Jeffs tomorrow to faceoff against their third brother, Bowdoin sophomore Chris Fenwick (F, '16).

Trinity Bantams 7-3-0 (3-2-0 NESCAC) at Middlebury Panthers 5-3-2 (3-2-1)
Kenyon Arena  Middlebury, VT
7:00 PM    Video   Audio 

The Bantams head north to the Green Mountains looking for redemption after blowing a 2-0 third period lead at Frozen Fenway against Williams on Tuesday. Middlebury stays at home after winning their own New Year's tournament with wins over St.Michael's in the first round and Neumann in the finals. The finals win also marked Bill Beaney's 500th win as Panthers men's hockey coach. When you add his 86 wins at New England College in the late 1970s and early 1980s, Beaney is the winningest coach in D-III hockey history.

The Panthers are a different team when they play in the friendly confines of Kenyon Arena. While it's a small sample, Middlebury is 3-0-1 at home, where they have outscored opponents 18-5. On the road or at neutral locations, Beaney's boys are 2-3-1 and have been outscored 16-11. Trinity also prefers to be at home in Hartford, where they are 5-1-0, as opposed to the road/neutral sites, where the Bantams are 2-2-0.

It will be interesting to see who Beaney pencils in at goaltender tonight. After starting the first six games of the year, Mike Peters (G, '15) hasn't spent a minute in net since he was pulled in the first period of the loss to Plattsburgh in November. Three other goalies have spent time in net in the four games since with senior Nick BonDurant (G, '14) getting the bulk of the action. On the other side of the ice, the Bantams feature Ben Coulthard (G, '14), who took the 3-2 loss the last time these teams met in February of 2013 at Kenyon despite making 35 saves.

In honor of the Fenwick side are you on brotherly battles this weekend in New England, we present Boston based Dropkick Murphy's "Which Side are You on?" .

Poll: Biggest surprise in the NESCAC so far this year

The last NESCAC game for 2013 was a week ago and by the end of this week all NESCAC players will have finished finals or at least gone home for break. So while the season is only a month old, let's take this time to reflect on what have been the biggest surprises in the 'Cac so far this year. There's a poll on the left sidebar and below is a primer to help you vote. 

Bowdoin's lukewarm start 

It hasn't been smooth sailing for Steve Messina (35)
and Bowdoin so far this season. 

Bowdoin entered this season as the prohibitive favorites to repeat as NESCAC champions. After returning  the bulk of a roster that went 23-4-2 and went to the NCAA Quarterfinals last year, the Polar Bears had hopes of making the NCAA D-III men's ice hockey Final Four that they will be hosting in Lewiston this upcoming March. 

But the game is played on the ice and not paper. The Polar Bears' front-runner image took a hit with a 0-1-1 opening weekend that included a manhandling by Williams, the team Bowdoin beat in last year's conference finals and the only NESCAC team still undefeated heading into the calendar turn. Things got worse the second weekend of the season as the Polar Bears dropped their home opener to arch-nemesis Colby. Injuries, inconsistent play and lineup changes have plagued newly minted 500 career win coach Meagher's squad, and the Bowdoin players return to their respective homes with a 5-3-2  record overall and more importantly, a 2-3-1 record in the 'Cac.

There's still plenty of time left in the season and the Brunswick bunch could very well end up winning the NESCAC. But the 2013-14 season thus far has been disappointing no matter how you measure it. 

Williams undefeated start

Williams entered the season as a legitimate contender for the NESCAC title, but no one thought they would lead the conference in the regular season. You, dear readers, selected the Ephs to finish fifth (as did USCHO) while USCHO and the WordPress blog had coach Kangas' crew coming in at third. With Middlebury, Bowdoin, Amherst and nationally ranked Babson on the early season schedule, most observers would have prognosticated at least one loss in the first seven games.

The 5-0-2 is not without its blemishes with ties against Colby and Hamilton, but in such a competitive conference those are bound to happen. The Ephs have ridden rocksteady goal-tending from Sean Dougherty (G, '15), a solid defense and scoring from a strong recruiting class ( eight of the twelve Ephs goals are from rookies) to a national ranking of seven and five in the USCHO and D3Hockey.com polls, respectively. 

Wesleyan freshman Elliot Vorel's torrid start 

Milton product Elliot Vorel (F, '17) started off his collegiate career in about as auspicious a manner as one could imagine, netting five points (2-3-5) in Wesleyan's opener against Tufts, including the game winner with four seconds remaining. Sure there was some luck involved with Vorel being moved up to the first line alongside 2013 NESCAC Player of the Year Keith Buehler (F, '14), but luck is par for the course in a five point game.

Vorel hasn't kept up the five points per game clip, but he has had at least a point in ever one of the Cardinals'eight games. The Garden State product has nineteen points (10-9-19) in eight games and leads the country with 2.38 points per game. While Vorel will likely slow down as the sample size increases, he is currently on track to score 57 points in the regular season. No NESCAC player has had 50 points in a season since Mickey Gilchrist (F,'06) did it for Middlebury in 2005-06 (24-26-50). Gilchrist only had 37 points in the regular season and needed the 2006 NCAA championship game against St. Norbert to reach the 50 point plateau. 

Amherst sophomore Dave Cunningham's brick wall in net 

Dave Cunningham entered this season as the Lord Jeffs starting goaltender after a solid seven game stint as a backup in his freshman campaign. But with only two NESCAC games under his belt it was impossible to tell how he would do as a full-time starter. 

So far, the Bellmont Hill product has been up to the task. Through seven games, Cunningham has Amherst tied for first place thanks in large part to his 1.29 Goals Against Average (7th in nation) and .946 save% (8th in the nation). He hasn't let up more than two goals in any game and went toe-to-toe with Williams' Dougherty. The Jeffs lost, 1- 0, but Cunningham out-saved Dougherty, 27-18, and looked impressive throughout. 

Trinity's Liam McKillop not scoring a goal as a Bantam 

Liam Mckillop (F, '15) transferred to Trinity after playing for St. Anselm's of the ECAC East the past two seasons. In 59 games with the Hawks, the NYC native had 56 points (27-29-56). An adjustment to a new system and team might explain a drop in production, but not one point and no goals (0-1-1) through eight games. Mckillop hasn't been hurt and he has seen good ice time, making it even more surprising. 

Middlebury's Matt Silcoff (F, '16) -- the reigning NESCAC Rookie of the Year - - has also seen a precipitous drop in production, garnering only two points (0-2-2) in eight games after a 24 point (11-13-24) rookie season. Silcoff's been a bit dinged up and Mckillop has an extra year on his resume, so we'll give the nod to the Bantam transfer as the more surprising of the goal-less wonders. 

While still surprising, McKillop's drop isn't unprecedented. 2011-12 1st team All-NESCAC forward Nik Tasiopoulos (F, '14) made the opposite jump from McKillop when he transfered to ECAC East's Babson last year. In two seasons at Wesleyan, Tasiopolous put up 57 points (31-26-57) in 50 games, including 19 goals and 15 assists in 2011-12. In his first season as a Beaver, Tasipolous had just eighteen points (5-13-18) in 30 games, and only one of those goals came in the first eight games. This season, Tasiopoulos has 10 points (6-4-10) in 11 games for Babson.

Hamilton's three-point weekend against Williams and Middlebury 

Entering the December 6th and 7th match-ups against Williams and Middlebury, Hamilton hadn't had three points in a weekend against the Panthers/Ephs since January of 2011 at Sage, when they tied Middlebury and beat Williams. Since the end of the NESCAC/ECAC East interlock in 2011, Hamilton has only mustered two points in eight games against the duo thanks to a 3-0 win over Middlebury in December of 2011.

This season, the Conts entered the weekend at 2-3-0 overall and only 1-3-0 in conference. Williams entered the weekend undefeated and ranked in both the USCHO (9th) and D3Hockey.com (6th) polls, while Middlebury appeared in the D3Hockey.com poll as well at 15. Hamilton earned a hard fought tie against Williams, thanks in large part to senior goaltender Joe Quattrocchi (G, '14) making 39 saves. The next day, the Continentals  survived a back and forth third period to vanquish the Panthers 4-3. Middlebury's goalie carousel had started spinning again, but even with that in consideration most observers wouldn't have predicted an undefeated weekend in Sage for the home team. 

News and Notes 12/12/13: Williams and Amherst at top of D3H computer rankings, KRACH and Dear Santa

Williams and Amherst on top of D3Hockey.com Rankings
In this week's edition of "take these with a grain of salt" D3Hockey.com computer rankings, Williams and Amherst swap top spots after the Ephs defeated the Lord Jeffs 1-0 on Saturday. The biggest winners from this past weekend were Hamilton and Conn College. The Conts had the highest ranking jump in the country , courtesy of their victory over Middlebury and tie with Williams, while the Camels had the highest ratings bump in the nation thanks to winning their first game of the season against Bowdoin. We also learned that losing to last place Conn or Tufts is a no-no for the computers, as Bowdoin and Colby found out.

The NESCAC's small number of out-of-conference games makes their samples non-representative, which is to say you can't reliably compare their ratings to the rest of the schools that have two weeks of extra games under their belt. There's also the issues of how seriously different coaches take non-conference play (who's in net?), where you have played your games (Hamilton's only road game is against Amherst), etc. and so on.

It's easy to pick apart the computer rankings, especially at this point in the season. Sure the games are played on ice instead of circuit boards, but the statistical models are a fun tool, so why do you hate fun, haters? Plus, if they get some hockey players or fans to look up statistical terms like representative sample, we can claim they are educational. So there's that.

Below is the table with the current rankings (out of 79 DII-DIII schools) and rating for each NESCAC school this week. In parentheses is the change in ranking or rating from the first set of computer ratings that came out last week.

School	Computer Ranking (change from last week’s ranking)	Computer rating (change from last week’s score)
Williams	1 (+1)	706 (+3)
Amherst	2 (-1)	700 (-7)
Trinity	13 (-2)	595 (-13)
Hamilton	16 (+29)	585 (+23)
Wesleyan	21 (+5)	563 (+10)
Middlebury	27 (-15)	548 (-56)
Bowdoin	35 (-17)	530 (-50)
Colby	37 (-24)	529 (-73)
Tufts	59 (+7)	444 (+35)
Conn College	67 (+10)	404 (+109)

KRACH
One computer ranking model we have not talked about is "Ken's Ratings for American College Hockey" or KRACH. The KRACH applies the Bradley-Terry rating system, a statistical model for pairwise comparisons that is utilized in various computer ranking models including in D-I football by the BCS. Another thing for you to look up while you study for your stats final.

USCHO publishes KRACH  and provides a little bit more of the raw data than D3H, including the strength of schedule rating/ranking based on the model. The same caveat of insular sampling in the NESCAC applies for this model like it does for D3H. With that said, below are the current KRACH overall rankings/ratings and Strength of Schedule (SOS) ranking/rating for each of the ten NESCAC schools. Unlike D3H, USCHO doesn't include the D-II schools in the KRACH, so the rankings are out of 73 schools. The exact national ranking is a bit different, but D3H and KRACH produce the same order or rankings for the 'Cac.

School	Ranking	Rating	SOS Rank	SOS Rating
Williams	3	771.7	4	178.1
Amherst	5	637.8	1	289.9
Trinity	8	508.9	26	117.4
Hamilton	17	248.7	2	248.7
Wesleyan	23	154.9	39	92.92
Middlebury	24	153.1	12	153.1
Bowdoin	31	108.8	53	75.33
Colby	36	98.85	46	80.88
Tufts	61	34.45	34	103.3
Conn College	66	25.41	17	144.0

Wish List for Santa
In Tim Costello's final NESCAC column of 2013 for USCHO, he goes through each team in the NESCAC and what he thinks they'll be asking Santa to bring them for the 2014 leg of the 2013-14 NESCAC season. Includes things like Middlebury asking for consistent goaltending and Williams asking for good weather at Frozen Fenway.