Nescac

[Mr.Right]

I think we saw on display this Weekend the difference between teams #1 thru #6 (Colby,Trinity,Williams,Hamilton,Wesleyan,Amherst) and then teams #7 thru #10 (Conn,Tufts,Midd,Bowdoin) this 2021-2022 season. The depth of the rosters of the Top 6 was / is making the biggest difference but certainly Goaltending, timely Goal Scoring and organized defenses have also helped. The bottom four teams are all young and will return a good nucleus to build off of with another new Frosh class coming in to help the returning glue. Always good to get them "in the know" early so everyone is on the same page and goals are all attainable. What will be the returning glue at Bowdoin, Tufts, Conn and Midd is very impressive as all 4 teams at times throughout this season showed they have the talent to compete with anyone but now they need more depth and consistency to be able to compete for an entire season. Of course it also helps if you have players that want it. What is it? Ha I got no answers but I suppose you will know it when you got it. Maybe the actual difference is really with the Top 2 (Colby and Trinity) and then the next 4 (Williams,Hamilton,Wes,Amherst)? I suppose we will find out this coming Weekend.

The electricity will be humming with an extra buzz in Waterville all week with Colby feeling real good about how they are playing as a team. Tufts came to play for a Period but about 5-10 min into the 2nd Period Colby had pulled away as Tufts kind of battled but then faded away as the Period wore on. A better effort than Conn though as Trinity happened to close out Conn after 24 Seconds and a 2-0 lead in the 1st Period. The announcer barely had time to belch out the Starting Lineup for Conn before the Game was over. Wes and Hamilton turned into the only battle of the day and I will recap that one first.


Coming Up This Weekend:

#2 Trinity (15-7-1) v #3 Williams (11-10-1) 1pm

#1 Colby (16-5-2) v #5 Hamilton (11-9-1) 4:30pm


Notes:

-Williams is 4-3-1 in their last 8. Road Record: 7-1-1.

-Hamilton is 6-2-1 in their last 9. Road Record: 6-4-0.

-Trinity has Won 6 Games in a Row and are 9-2-1 in their last 12. Road Record: 6-2-1

-Colby has Won 3 Games in a Row and are 12-2-2 in their last 16. Home Record: 10-3-0


Random Link: NEPSAC Super 8 / Large / Small.....https://www.nepsac.org/sites/nepsac....psbhoc22v4.pdf


Holderness v KUA Live Stream 4pm Wed March 2nd https://www.nepsac.org/page/3339

[tjoneslo]

So I decided to confirm my "Tuft's has a small rink" comment by looking up the sizes of the NESCAC rinks and found I'm a little off:

Amherst (Orr Rink): 200 x 85
Bowdoin (Sidney J. Watson Arena): 200 x 90 *
Colby (Jack Kelly Rink): 200 x 85
Conn College (Dayton Arena) : 200 x 85
Hamilton (Sage Rink): 210 x 85 *
Middlebury (Chip Kenyon Area): 200 x 95 *
Trinity (Albert Creighton Williams '64 Rink) : 200 x 90 *
Tufts (Malden Valley Forum) : 200 x 85
Wesleyan (Spurrier-Snyder Rink) : 200 x 85
Williams (Lansing Chapman Rink) : 200 x 85

An "Official" size rink is 200 x 85, of which all of the rinks are at least that size and four are larger (marked with a *).

A small rink I would think would be Plattsburg (Ronald B. Stafford Ice Arena) : 185 x 85. This may throw off many teams used to a longer (and in some cases wider) ice surface.

[Mr.Right]

Continued From Previous Page:

I am really annoyed about this 10,000 words limit. I cannot even finish a Recap. I suppose I need to edit myself but hate playing editor and just cutting and slashing.

2nd Period:

#28 Carter Dwyer dropped the puck off for #9 Cade Groton who was on top of the strong side circle closer to the blueline as Groton threw a wrist shot on Goal and it found the back of it. #9 Groton was pumped after the Goal. A real unselfish play by #28 Dwyer who drove towards his weak hand side before playing Groton which means he meant to drop it off all along and was not planning on shooting. Hard to tell on the stream what type of screen was in front of Wesleyan G #31 Marc Smith. Wesleyan played much better when behind 1-2 compared to 2-3 and started peppering Storr with some dangerous looks in the 2nd Period. Hamilton's #28 Dwyer continued the open Ice hitting with another good one later in the 2nd planted on Wes #12 Owen Sweet driving thru the Neutral Zone hummin along unto the Blueline and then out of nowhere Dwyer gives Sweet a big "How Do".

It was the Frosh Winger #25 Grisha Gotovets who drove right into Goal with a deke and a sick cut with the Puck on his stick as he tried to jam it in the Goal halfway thru the 2nd Period but was turned away by Wes Goalie Marc Smith and his Pad. Gotovets has some serious skill and speed for a Frosh and was causing Wes problems throughout his time on the Ice. I realize Belarus and the city of Minsk is not Ukraine but hey its right next door so I hope the Hamilton Frosh #25 Grisha Gotovets extended family in Belarus is doing ok.

Another great Open Ice Hit on the Forecheck from Hamilton's Winger Frosh #26 Owen Luft on Wesleyan's D #2 Powell. Luft was just chomping at the bit to get on the Ice as his Line's bell had not been rung until halfway thru the 2nd.

Then, for laughs or maybe loss of brain function but who knows why first Hamilton's Goalie #29 Sean Storr played #2 Jeremy Smith from behind his Goal to Smith on the Low Boards behind the Goaline with Wesleyan's #29 Jeremy Abraham breathing down his neck and then Smith for whatever reason plays a juicy Pass in front of his own Goal that Storr had to Save all over again. On the Play #4 William Neault picked up a necessary Hooking Penalty or Wes would have had a free look right in front of Goal. The camera then happened to zoom right in and Neault was making sure the Frosh Goalie #42 Charlie Archer also knew that is was a necessary Penalty when he got in the box and got real loud with it. Explaining this and that on the play and why he Neault had to hook the Wes kid. Neault then looked over at his HC to see if he thought it was a "necessary" Penalty, Archer stared the opposite direction and soon so would Neault as his HC showed no body movement or body language was given back to Neault so Neault shrugged his shoulders and just sat down in the box as if job kind of done / maybe not actually idk. No Goal as of yet as it is still 2-1 Hamilton but Wes is now going on the PP for the first time in the Game.

Wesleyan would even the score again on a PP Goal by Wes #10 Go Uemura with 7 minutes remaining in the 2nd Period. Uemura's wrister from above the right faceoff circle went straight to the upper left-hand corner of the goal as Goalie #9 Sean Storr was screened on the play and stuck his Paw out late. Uemura's big PP tally evened things up 2-2.

Hamilton would get their 3rd and final tally with about 4 minutes left in the period. The Continentals were going crazy on the Forecheck for a good minute before the Goal. Very good effort from #4 Neault, #44 McKenzie etc and eventually they intercepted a pass in the Neutral Zone as #24 Gellerman sent the Puck over to #7 Thomson inside the right faceoff circle and he threw the puck towards the low slot where it was deflected by a charging Wesleyan defenseman #5 Dunderdale right past Smith. Thomson went crazy as he jumped / slammed right into his own D-Man #8 Wutzke who was completely not expecting it and almost broke Wutzke's back in the process. Wutzke had to then inform Thomson that it was now time to leave the "5-Man Celey" and Skate over and do the Team thing. Thomson then skates over all confident and goes thru the team and then flashes two fingers at Storr. 3-2 Hamilton.

3rd Period:

Nothing. Still annoyed with the 10,000 word thing. Absolutely nothing.

Wesleyan could not find a 3rd. Feel bad for the Wesleyan Seniors who really drove this team and now will have to be replaced especially Levine, Sorabella, Zandi and O'Connor. I believe Wes will get most of their guys back plus another recruiting class in but they are losing some key leaders that will need to be replaced and not just on paper either.

Hamilton is going to have to bury their chances this coming weekend as Colby will not be doing any gift wrapping of easy Goals. I really think the Top Line of Allaire and Jefferson with the Skill and Speed along with #15 Hawkins and his motor always going will be key to victory and will need to score for Hamilton this Weekend. The Colby 3-2 OT Win over Hamilton in Waterville during the Regular Season is a great example of how hard Hamilton is going to need to focus and work on limiting mistakes and then taking advantage of opportunities given to them throughout the Game off of their forecheck. Both Colby's victory at Home and Hamilton's 3-1 victory earlier from January can teach some helpful lessons as well.

[Mr.Right]

The #5 Hamilton Continentals (11-9-1) were able to squeeze by the #4 Wesleyan Cardinals (10-12-3) 3-2 in Middletown, CT this past Sunday. Hamilton finished off the Wesleyan Men's Hockey Season on their own Home Ice which is not a great feeling for the Home team. Hamilton was ecstatic about being able to see themselves thru to the SF Round of the Nescac Tournament. They showed an excellent work ethic for 60 minutes and were able to trouble Wesleyan on the Forecheck for a good chunk of the Game and even when Wes busted thru the Neutral Zone they would find themselves immediately congested in Hamilton's end. It took a ton of effort from Wesleyan to just possess comfortably and move with or without the Puck with any ease as Hamilton was coming at Wesleyan it seemed wave after wave whenever Wesleyan regained possession. Both teams brought the competitive fire needed to Win the Game but Hamilton just happened to bury their opportunities while also staying disciplined as a team and receiving confident Goaltending from #29 Sean Storr.


Hamilton Lined Up:

#18 Jordi Jefferson-#10 Fred Allaire-#15 Nick Hawkins

#4 William Neault- #44 Scott McKenzie-#14 Logan Greene

#25 Grisha Gotovets-#9 Cade Groton-#24 Matt Gellerman

#26 Owen Luft-#6 Sean McAvoy-#12 Ryan Brown

D:

#16 James Philpott-#13 Nick Rutigliano

#28 Carter Dwyer-#2 Jeremy Smith

#8 Max Wutzke-#7 Sean Thomson


19th: D #27 Sam MacBean

Goalie: #29 Sean Storr

PP:

#24 Gellerman-#9 Groton- #25 Gotovets-#4 Neault-#2 J.Smith

#18 Jefferson-#10 Allaire-#15 Hawkins-#16 Philpott-#13 Rutigliano

Trying to create 2v1's in slot area with One Guy roaming Goaline. I thought the Frosh #4 Neault was able to showcase his quickness and skill on that PP along with the usual suspects on the Top Line. Wes still had a dominant PK that did not allow Hamilton to even really set it up.

PK:

#14 Greene(#10 Allaire)-#15 Hawkins-#27 MacBean-#13 Rutigliano
#44 McKenzie-#18 Jefferson-#7 Thomson-#28 Dwyer



1st Period:

Hamilton started the Game on the front foot with three solid opportunities early. D #2 Jeremy Smith had a great wrist shot off a F/O Win from #44 Scott McKenzie deep in Wesleyan's Zone that he kept on Ice and right at Goal that Wesleyan Goalie #31 Marc Smith made a nice Save on and also #18 Jordi Jefferson off a Wesleyan F/O win over #10 Fred Allaire in Hamilton's Zone but the Puck went to Hamilton's D #27 Sam MacBean who pushed thru the Hash Marks and put the Puck right onto the stick of #15 Nick Hawkins in the Neutral Zone to start the Rush. Hawkins found Jefferson immediately speeding down the wing and he also followed hard for the rebound but Jefferson's shot was nicely saved and pushed out wide and out of reach of Hamilton's other players following up. Also do not forget the great chance Jefferson set up for D #8 Wutzke off of a giveaway and quick 3v2 that developed but Wutzke's shot went wildly high. Wesleyan seemingly fought hard for their chances and Goals all Game while Hamilton were gift wrapped a soft Goal off the stick of D #13 Nick Rutigliano from beyond the Blue Line to give Hamilton a shocking 1-0 lead three minutes into the Game. This Goal not only gave Hamilton the lead it forced Wesleyan to play much more cautiously in front of their G #31 Marc Smith than they normally would have. Hamilton was making sure to get every Puck possible on Goal with Rutigliano still firing Pucks at Smith from all over the Ice even after scoring so the scouting report must have been "SHOOT". Whether they realized it or not Wesleyan was not able to play their normal free flowing aggressive style offensively as that soft Goal not only took the "giddy" out of Wesleyan's "giddyup" it also vacuumed up all air and any vibe that was left in the building. The first 10 minutes of the Period Hamilton had the Goal in their back pocket and were on the Forecheck aggressively and with purpose. They were troubling Wesleyan and had them pinned in their Zone for little bursts throughout the Period. A couple careless Wesleyan mistakes and bad turnovers in their Zone were not taken advantage of by Hamilton on the scoreboard but Hamilton had done their job all Period by starting to wear the Wesleyan skaters down with relentless pressure. With about 8 minutes remaining in the Period Wesleyan woke up and started to get a few opportunities on Goal with Hamilton's G #29 Sean Storr making a few solid Saves off Wes C #16 Stevie O'Connor and Winger #10 Go Uemura.

Wesleyan's incendiary agitator on the Ice D #7 Jake LaChance tried to stir things up with Hamilton's unsuspecting D #7 Sean Thomson. Thomson is a tall athletic kid but was disciplined and not biting on LaChance's cunning try at diverting Hamilton's attention from the Game to him. Thomson for his part showed he was more focused on the scoreboard not LaChance's rabblerousing. LaChance has made it work in past Games but it was not to be on this Sunday as Thomson got himself untangled and skated off to the bench utterly indifferent to LaChance and his ploy of skullduggery. LaChance's choice of players to antagonize should have been different as there were three different Hamilton players that would have taken the bait at that point of the Game. It was early but LaChance knew the building needed some hot air.

Meanwhile later in the 1st Period G #29 Storr showed off his Hockey IQ and quick stick flush with Ice with a bullet of a stretch pass to #15 Nick Hawkins from his own Goal too just cover the Blueline and into Wesleyan's Zone where Hawkins was standing as Storr completely caught Wesleyan in a change but Hamilton could not take advantage as Wes recovered well.

With 4 minutes left in the 1st Period Hamilton got caught with 3 Players behind Wesleyan's Goaline. Wesleyan immediately created a really nice 3v2 down Ice with Wesleyan's C #19 Wiggle Kerbrat scoring a bold Goal by taking his stick and using it as a would be ax to a tree and hacking the Puck mid air past Storr. Frankly anything will do as Kerbrat evened the Game up 1-1 and gave Wes a much needed energy jolt going into the break. Kerbrat is a really good player for Wes a real competitor and gives them an edge with his scoring.

Then with 3 minutes left in the 1st Period a monster hit by Hamilton's 6'3 D #28 Carter Dwyer on Wealeyan's 6'6 D #23 Vaclav Hes who for a second lost awareness of what was around him before throwing his Paw out to collect a loose Puck in the air. He lost his balance and Dwyer finished him off with a nice open Ice hit.

No clue why he did not just catch and play it but with 2 minutes left #18 Jordi Jefferson attempts a header to try and keep the Puck in Wesleyan's Zone. It did not work out but a serious attempt and you can tell the futbol has only helped his Hockey vision. 1-1 After 1st Period.


Continued on Next Page:

[Mr.Right]

KUA defeats Holderness 3-2 in a wildly entertaining up and down Game with a great atmosphere at KUA and a nice facility with a good DJ. Belmont Hill "The Hillies" same deal with facilities and great crowds had a 3-0 lead on St.Sebastian's but St.Seb's got it back to 3-2 late in the 3rd as I am writing. Great Games and atmosphere.

[Mr.Right]

Nescac 1st Team

F	Chris Brown	Bowdoin	Jr.	Worcester, Mass.
F	Justin Grillo	Colby	Sr.	Rockville Centre, N.Y.
F	Lucas Michaud	Trinity	Sr.	South Portland, Maine
D	Nick Rutigliano	Hamilton	Sr.	Upton, Mass.
D	Jack Sullivan	Colby	So.	Elmhurst, Ill.
G	Andy Beran	Colby	So.	St. Paul, Minn.

[Mr.Right]

Nescac 2nd Team

F	Justin Brandt	Tufts	Sr.	Ann Arbor, Mich
F	Grisha Gotovets	Hamilton	Fy.	Minsk, Belarus
F	Jordi Jefferson	Hamilton	Sr.	Wasaga Beach, Ontario
D	John Campomenosi	Trinity	So.	Wayne, N.J.
D	Matt Zandi	Wesleyan	Gr.	Mount Kisco, N.Y.
G	Evan Ruschil	Williams	Jr.	Katonah, N.Y.

[Mr.Right]

So did "they" get it right? Any serious omissions? IMO some looks good and some not so good. I see 3 exclusions from the All-Nescac Team that have a legitimate complaint but I suppose there are only so many spots but only 7 of 10 teams even represented with Midd, Conn and Amherst getting the overall "snub". This should never happen which is why there should be a 3rd Team.


Before I forget Here are the Big Papi Awards:

2022 NESCAC Men’s Ice Hockey Awards
Player of the Year: Lucas Michaud, Trinity
Rookie of the Year: Jack Sullivan, Colby
Coach of the Year: Blaise MacDonald, Colby

[Mr.Right]

Tomorrow is a Big Day for Nescac and the 4 teams remaining.


Between the Games be sure to check out some great Prep Hockey as well:


Nepsac: https://www.nepsac.org/sites/nepsac....sbhoc22v13.pdf


https://www.nepsac.org/page/3337

BOYS ICE HOCKEY
Avon Old Farms vs. Belmont Hill	Stuart/Corkery (Open)	1:30 PM	https://www.avonoldfarms.com/athletics/live-stream
Kimball Union vs. Salisbury	Stuart/Corkery (Open)	5:00 PM	https://www.kua.org/athletics/live-games
Kent vs Phillips Exeter	Martin/Earl (Large)	3:00 PM	https://www.kent-school.edu/athletics/live-streaming
Brunswick vs Noble & Greenough	Martin/Earl (Large)	2:00 PM	https://events.locallive.tv/school/brunswick
The Frederick Gunn School vs. The Governor's Academy	Piatelli/Simmons (Small)	2:00 PM	https://web.playsight.com/livestreaming/e4f77c16290243b78e772913f729b7a1?utm_source=dl&utm _medium=share
St. Mark's School vs. Pomfret School	Piatelli/Simmons (Small)	3:00 PM	https://www.stmarksschool.org/athletics/livestream

[Mr.Right]

It is 4pm on Sunday March 6th and Trinity is now in the process of eating up its 3rd straight Nescac opponent in the Nescac Conference Tournament. They have a 3-0 lead on Colby with about four min left in the 3rd. Trinity has still yet to give up a Goal in this Tournament and have shown to be dominant in the last weeks of this season having not had a Game since Wesleyan gave them a 3-2 Game 2 weeks ago on that Friday night where Wesleyan looked to be a serious contender but Trinity was just too much. Too much talent on display all over the Ice at all times and just so adept at taking advantage of ANY mistakes their opponent makes. Trinity has also shown a focus and work ethic that mixed with their talent is just to much for any Nescac team right now to overcome. Every team really needs to try to mimic the Trinity recruiting machine in their own way with their own school and admissions. Obviously that is easier said than done but not impossible so they have to come up with different recruiting strategies if they are to overcome Trinity getting to 6 straight Nescac Champioships and Winning 4 of them. Trinity in the NCAA's to me will be real interesting. I think they have enough talent to Win It All if everything bounces their way and they stay focused and motivated they can beat anyone on any given day. More to follow...Congrats to Trinity and good luck in the NCAA's as I hope they represent Nescac with Class and just Winning. Go mow them down.

Do not forget....

Salisbury v Belmont Hill 5pm https://www.myhockeylive.com/watch/l...PdnrH6Bm32VL8n

Feel real bad for the KUA Goalie who got screened and then lost sight of the Puck to lose the Game last night v Salisbury in OT on Home Ice the "Open" Semi and then Belmont Hill upsetting Avon in the other Semi. Brunswick looked pretty dominant in the little I saw in the "Large Division" but in that "Small Division" The Frederick Gunn School was running a clinic against Governor's Acad

[Mr.Right]

Trinity at Babson it is...The Game was supposed to be played in late December but got postponed and surprisingly never got made up. This will be a great Game pitting two very good teams against each other. Trinity showcased an impressive defensive formation all Weekend up at Colby and stymied a very good Colby team on its Home Ice. They showed an effective 1-2-2 Neutral Zone Trap or I would call it a Conservative Forecheck as the focus and discipline for Trinity was in protecting their netminder #35 JP Mella from seeing any dangerous chances or shots. Their D-men took away the effectiveness of Colby's Top Line including their best player #8 Grillo as Trinity had the depth to keep putting fresh legs on all of Colby's best offensive players the entire Game. Their depth is obviously a huge advantage. The way they have been playing in their defensive formation has been "fantastico" as they have been suffocating opponents Puck Carriers and teams trying to enter their D Zone. Trinity is focused on protecting Mella but also stifling the opponent thru the Neutral Zone and taking full "go" of their Opponent's mistakes and cough up's. Trinity has been forcing their Opponents into key turnovers in really bad areas of the Ice, pouncing on them and then taking full advantage of the "helpfulness" of their Opponents by scoring off them. It completely sucked the air out of Colby's building on 4 different occasions. Colby had easily the best "Atmosphere" for a Nescac Championship all Weekend and should be very proud of all they accomplished this season. I would hang a Regular Season Banner. Why not? It should be celebrated even though it did not earn them an NCAA bid. I still think Colby would of represented Nescac very well in the NCAA's and could have found a Win or 2. For Trinity I fully expect them to play the same against Babson as they have been playing for the past 2-3 Weeks. They have found something right now that is working very well for them. Babson has some serious Offensive weapons as they can easily roll 4 Lines with Trinity so it will be an interesting match up with the question being which team can dig deepest and gut it out.


Early 5AM Tuesday Line "subject to change" is a Pick Em':

Babson (19-5-2) -120 Over 5.5 +130
Trinity (17-7-1) Even Under 5.5 -110

Trinity's 3rd Line is composed of 2 Frosh and a Soph #27 Boysen, #16 Siffringer and #13 Tongue and is one of the more dangerous Line's in the League and the League has barely seen it yet because of Trinity's Top 2 Lines. They hunt the Puck so well and will be HUGE in this stretch run in the NCAA's. Babson will be extra focused on Trinity's Top 2 Lines and they should be because Trinity's Top 2 Lines are just as dangerous as Babson's Top 2 Lines but it is this 3rd Line that might be able to cause the most damage under the radar(no one reads this crap) and against tired legs. This Line has been earning extra playing time in the 2nd Half of the Season and could very well be tearing up the League next Year.

More to follow...Congrats also to Salisbury (23-5-0) for besting Belmont Hill. Kent over Brunswick and Pomfret over Fred Gunn.


https://www.bostonglobe.com/2022/03/...d-small-title/

[Russell Jaslow]

Trinity at Babson it is...The Game was supposed to be played in late December but got postponed and surprisingly never got made up.

The hockey gods made it right.

[Mr.Right]

Nescac All-Sportsmanship Team 2021-22

Joey Verkerke Amherst Jr. Plymouth, Mich.

Kyle Jadatz Bowdoin Sr. Kings Park, N.Y.

Quinn Doyle Colby Sr. Rochester, N.Y.

Seth Stadheim Conn. College So. Lyme, N.H.

Nick Hawkins Hamilton Jr. Westminster, Colo.

Tyler Capello Middlebury Sr. Wellesley, Mass.

Connor Sundquist Trinity Sr. South Glastonbury, Conn.

Tom Tresca Tufts Sr. Newton, Mass.

Robert Dysart Wesleyan Sr. Herndon, Va.

Nick Altmann Williams Sr. Duluth, Minn.

[Mr.Right]

Also a congrats to this Amherst grad who is showing that HC Jack Arena has "some" Coaching Tree. This kid cannot be older than 30 and I just went thru this in Men's Soccer with the Conn College Coach being a Hobart 2011 Grad winning the NCAA Title. Barely 30. It is becoming a Young Man's Game with all the recruiting.

https://twitter.com/AmherstMHockey/s...994627/photo/1

[Russell Jaslow]

Also a congrats to this Amherst grad who is showing that HC Jack Arena has "some" Coaching Tree. This kid cannot be older than 30 and I just went thru this in Men's Soccer with the Conn College Coach being a Hobart 2011 Grad winning the NCAA Title. Barely 30. It is becoming a Young Man's Game with all the recruiting.

You’re absolutely right. I’ve even heard "older" coaches say just that. "It’s a young man’s game now."