In an unusual Thursday night NESCAC game the Polar Bears manage to break their 6 game overtime streak and defeat the Continentals 3-1. An evenly played game. The continentals needed to put in the goal the one of the three times the Bears goaltender decided to go for a skate and leave the goal wide open. Still this leaves the two teams tied in the middle of the NESCAC standings.
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Nescac
- Thread starter neumyer
- Start date
What we got 01/31/22.
Williams at Tufts tonight at 7pm.
#MuleTrain has the lead with 2 games in hand. Can they bring it Home? Or do they stay bunched up and claw it out?
Team GP PTS
Colby 10 24
Williams 12 23
Trinity 12 21
Wesleyan 12 21
Amherst 12 17.5
Bowdoin 12 17.5
Hamilton 11 16
Tufts 10 10.5
Conn 9 10
Midd 10 4.5
Williams at Tufts tonight at 7pm.
#MuleTrain has the lead with 2 games in hand. Can they bring it Home? Or do they stay bunched up and claw it out?
Team GP PTS
Colby 10 24
Williams 12 23
Trinity 12 21
Wesleyan 12 21
Amherst 12 17.5
Bowdoin 12 17.5
Hamilton 11 16
Tufts 10 10.5
Conn 9 10
Midd 10 4.5
Last edited:
This I wrote up on the Colby v USM game last Tuesday.
Colby-
This team put on an absolute clinic on Tuesday v USM. All 4 lines and 3 pairs of D-Men skated hard and were relentless all night. This is a focused team right now with every line contributing every night they play. The team speed has to be one of the best in Nescac. They might be a little undersized but they make up every inch lost with tenacity and grit. I wonder if they keep a stat for the time of possession in each zone because Colby was in their O Zone all night. They looked like the Babson team I was complimenting the other day playing fast, moving off the puck, filling the lanes and unselfishly executing passing plays that were giving teammates openings for dangerous chances on goal that at times were a thing of beauty. #12 Bourhas Goal was a perfect example with an excellent Pass from #13 Molson. What a team picture that would be from behind the goal seeing Bourhas follow thru on his shot while the puck pings the net and pops the water bottle. The Blind passes and Double Seam passes were great and they took risks and were rewarded because there were bad reads made and bad passes in bad areas but they hunted the puck down and recovered. Since they were not afraid to make mistakes they had the confidence to keep making their reads and learning throughout the game. Freedom to make mistakes on the Ice breeds confidence and it forces the players to have to rely on each other for help.
Colby has been using pretty much the same 1st and 2nd lines all year. Top Line is LW #14 Breitenfeldt, C #28 Morrissey and RW #8 Grillo the Captain, Leader and Speedster. These three have some chemistry going on right now as all 3 are incredibly dangerous players. Colby not keeping individual F/O Wins and Losses as Stats does no favors for Morrissey, #12 Bourhas, #22 Klein and #18 MacDonald as it all starts with them. Top line production has Morrissey at 2G-9A, Breitenfeldt 4G-5A and Grillo 6G-7A. 2nd Line is LW #15 Doyle, C #22 Klein and RW #3 McElaney. These guys friggin scrap and are unselfish. Doyle had a key Poke late in the game when USM was threatening and they all contributed on McElaney's GW'er early in the 2nd Period. Doyle picked up a loose puck in the Neutral Zone and rushed up Ice, stopped on a dime near the goalline but did not like his initial read so he played back to Klein who faked a bomb and played a wide open McElaney right in front of the net who calmly buried it and then McElaney and Klein celebrated by pointing to each other. That was all you NAH NAH it was all you. Hmm OK maybe it was me then. Umm Yea it was the both of them. Deception and Unselfishness.
3rd Line usually has some combination of LW #9 Sanzone, C #12 Bourhas and RW #16 Burke. Burke I think owes the Frosh #48 O'Brien a favor this week. Any kind of favor really. Maybe he should carry the kid's bag or buy him lunch because that blind pass O'Brien fed to Burke in the 2nd period was unreal and frankly deserved an Assist.
4th Line is usually some combination of LW #24 Stapleton, C #18 MacDonald and RW #19 Thousand or #29 Blanchard. The wingers are fast and scrappy and then there is the Frosh Jake MacDonald. This kid does all the little things right but more importantly shows an abundance of courage and heart. Always fun to see a Frosh in any Sport with the confidence to make sure every other Nescac team knows he has arrived and is in the building. He is always tussling with someone and does not let his opponent off easy. The MacDonald / Gellerman tussle earlier this month up at Hamilton is easily the funniest and almost worth the $10 paywall but I saw it live. The MacDonald v LaChance dustup when Wes came to town was probably my 2nd favorite. He is one player that definitely earns his penalties which is much better than a lazy hook or trip.
The D Men are led by one of the finest two way players in Nescac right now #20 Jack Sullivan who leads Nescac with 7G-9A-16. He leads the Mules in Shots and PPG with 3. He courageously blocked a vicious shot late in the 3rd against USM and I really think Colby's MVP right now. I mean #7 Korpi and #23 Kaplan are beasts as well and really play above their size as they both battle and hit with some pop. This is all being done without Colby's 2 starting Defencemen from the start of the season #2 Thomas and #6 Halpin.
Backup Goalie CJ Hapward got his first start of the year and played well even coming up with a diving buzzer beating save off a rebound at the end of the 2nd Period to preserve the 2-1 lead. Now that is just like Soccer because Colby was up in USM's grill all period but only could bury one goal and still USM had one chance to come lay down a smash and grab and almost tie the score. Like Soccer you gotta bury teams when you can because the longer they stick around the more pressure you put on your own team.
Colby now sits at 10-3(7-2) having Won their 6th straight game. It boggles my mind how that team is not ranked. Completely disrespected by the pollsters. They received a couple votes but not enough for a Top 15. I mean a couple of different bounces and they could have defeated Williams and Babson as both games could have gone either way. The loss at Hamilton they led 1-0 entering the 3rd Period and they had Hamilton sleepwalking before MacDonald poked the bear one to many times with Gellerman. That woke up Joey Moore and Co and they came out gangbusters 3rd Period to dice Colby but man this team is very close to being 13-0 or 12-1. Would they then be ranked #1 thru #5? So it goes to show what a fine line every game is and frankly Nescac has to take these OOC games more seriously because that is what moves the pollsters. When one of Nescac's best announcers Caleb Lamb say's before the puck dropped "Non-Conference game here tonight so not as much on the line" that is absolute bullsh*t. If that is the mindset than forget it. Yea I get it he is the announcer and I am sure the team takes every game seriously but it is somewhat concerning. Maybe the Nescac Home and Away's actually hurt these teams. Maybe dump the round robin but leave it open for teams to play each other twice if they want to. Colby finishes the year with 9 Nescac Games starting with their rival Bowdoin on Friday. Bowdoin is another team playing with a ton of confidence right now. That kid #7 Kimball is an absolute workhorse and #23 Small can score but most importantly Bowdoin is extremely organized defensively and leads the league on the kill. I'll have to get to them another time but every team will be gunning for #MuleTrain now because they are all looking up at them in the Standings.
Colby-
This team put on an absolute clinic on Tuesday v USM. All 4 lines and 3 pairs of D-Men skated hard and were relentless all night. This is a focused team right now with every line contributing every night they play. The team speed has to be one of the best in Nescac. They might be a little undersized but they make up every inch lost with tenacity and grit. I wonder if they keep a stat for the time of possession in each zone because Colby was in their O Zone all night. They looked like the Babson team I was complimenting the other day playing fast, moving off the puck, filling the lanes and unselfishly executing passing plays that were giving teammates openings for dangerous chances on goal that at times were a thing of beauty. #12 Bourhas Goal was a perfect example with an excellent Pass from #13 Molson. What a team picture that would be from behind the goal seeing Bourhas follow thru on his shot while the puck pings the net and pops the water bottle. The Blind passes and Double Seam passes were great and they took risks and were rewarded because there were bad reads made and bad passes in bad areas but they hunted the puck down and recovered. Since they were not afraid to make mistakes they had the confidence to keep making their reads and learning throughout the game. Freedom to make mistakes on the Ice breeds confidence and it forces the players to have to rely on each other for help.
Colby has been using pretty much the same 1st and 2nd lines all year. Top Line is LW #14 Breitenfeldt, C #28 Morrissey and RW #8 Grillo the Captain, Leader and Speedster. These three have some chemistry going on right now as all 3 are incredibly dangerous players. Colby not keeping individual F/O Wins and Losses as Stats does no favors for Morrissey, #12 Bourhas, #22 Klein and #18 MacDonald as it all starts with them. Top line production has Morrissey at 2G-9A, Breitenfeldt 4G-5A and Grillo 6G-7A. 2nd Line is LW #15 Doyle, C #22 Klein and RW #3 McElaney. These guys friggin scrap and are unselfish. Doyle had a key Poke late in the game when USM was threatening and they all contributed on McElaney's GW'er early in the 2nd Period. Doyle picked up a loose puck in the Neutral Zone and rushed up Ice, stopped on a dime near the goalline but did not like his initial read so he played back to Klein who faked a bomb and played a wide open McElaney right in front of the net who calmly buried it and then McElaney and Klein celebrated by pointing to each other. That was all you NAH NAH it was all you. Hmm OK maybe it was me then. Umm Yea it was the both of them. Deception and Unselfishness.
3rd Line usually has some combination of LW #9 Sanzone, C #12 Bourhas and RW #16 Burke. Burke I think owes the Frosh #48 O'Brien a favor this week. Any kind of favor really. Maybe he should carry the kid's bag or buy him lunch because that blind pass O'Brien fed to Burke in the 2nd period was unreal and frankly deserved an Assist.
4th Line is usually some combination of LW #24 Stapleton, C #18 MacDonald and RW #19 Thousand or #29 Blanchard. The wingers are fast and scrappy and then there is the Frosh Jake MacDonald. This kid does all the little things right but more importantly shows an abundance of courage and heart. Always fun to see a Frosh in any Sport with the confidence to make sure every other Nescac team knows he has arrived and is in the building. He is always tussling with someone and does not let his opponent off easy. The MacDonald / Gellerman tussle earlier this month up at Hamilton is easily the funniest and almost worth the $10 paywall but I saw it live. The MacDonald v LaChance dustup when Wes came to town was probably my 2nd favorite. He is one player that definitely earns his penalties which is much better than a lazy hook or trip.
The D Men are led by one of the finest two way players in Nescac right now #20 Jack Sullivan who leads Nescac with 7G-9A-16. He leads the Mules in Shots and PPG with 3. He courageously blocked a vicious shot late in the 3rd against USM and I really think Colby's MVP right now. I mean #7 Korpi and #23 Kaplan are beasts as well and really play above their size as they both battle and hit with some pop. This is all being done without Colby's 2 starting Defencemen from the start of the season #2 Thomas and #6 Halpin.
Backup Goalie CJ Hapward got his first start of the year and played well even coming up with a diving buzzer beating save off a rebound at the end of the 2nd Period to preserve the 2-1 lead. Now that is just like Soccer because Colby was up in USM's grill all period but only could bury one goal and still USM had one chance to come lay down a smash and grab and almost tie the score. Like Soccer you gotta bury teams when you can because the longer they stick around the more pressure you put on your own team.
Colby now sits at 10-3(7-2) having Won their 6th straight game. It boggles my mind how that team is not ranked. Completely disrespected by the pollsters. They received a couple votes but not enough for a Top 15. I mean a couple of different bounces and they could have defeated Williams and Babson as both games could have gone either way. The loss at Hamilton they led 1-0 entering the 3rd Period and they had Hamilton sleepwalking before MacDonald poked the bear one to many times with Gellerman. That woke up Joey Moore and Co and they came out gangbusters 3rd Period to dice Colby but man this team is very close to being 13-0 or 12-1. Would they then be ranked #1 thru #5? So it goes to show what a fine line every game is and frankly Nescac has to take these OOC games more seriously because that is what moves the pollsters. When one of Nescac's best announcers Caleb Lamb say's before the puck dropped "Non-Conference game here tonight so not as much on the line" that is absolute bullsh*t. If that is the mindset than forget it. Yea I get it he is the announcer and I am sure the team takes every game seriously but it is somewhat concerning. Maybe the Nescac Home and Away's actually hurt these teams. Maybe dump the round robin but leave it open for teams to play each other twice if they want to. Colby finishes the year with 9 Nescac Games starting with their rival Bowdoin on Friday. Bowdoin is another team playing with a ton of confidence right now. That kid #7 Kimball is an absolute workhorse and #23 Small can score but most importantly Bowdoin is extremely organized defensively and leads the league on the kill. I'll have to get to them another time but every team will be gunning for #MuleTrain now because they are all looking up at them in the Standings.
One more on me and why I am here. Excuse the handle but it is mine from the other site and just easier to remember one handle / pwd.
Soccer and Hockey have many similarities but the challenge of scoring Goals which is getting harder and harder in both Sports is to me the biggest. Defenses are bigger, stronger, faster and much more organized than in years past. All the video that the Pro's and even the College Guys have makes it even harder. Attacking principles and strategies in Hockey apply to Soccer and vice versa and this is what I am most interested in. The Passing, Stickwork / Footwork, Forecheck / Pressing, Rush/ Counter, Possession, Deception, Set plays Face-offs / Set Pieces, Unpredictability in attack along with adaptability are key in both sports. Forecheck heavy with 3 guys and be willing to give up 2v1's and 3v2's is for Hockey exactly like the risks in Soccer when you Press and what you risk giving up on the counter. Either way you must be able to trust your D men and Goalie. In Hockey just like Soccer teams like to possess but they are not generating enough quality chances off that possession. As in Soccer in Hockey it is so important to make reads and play off the puck. Giving the player with the puck as many options as possible. Bad reads will happen but over time the correct reads with and without the puck will come. Cover the Ice and move off the puck. If you can grab your teammates hand you are not covering Ice. You cannot just stand and watch you have to keep moving in this Sport. To me in the O Zone of Hockey I would rather see a player make a read get 2-3 passes off and then a quick shot and retrieve the puck as fast as you can and keep possessing. If you lose the Puck in your O Zone you do not always have to get above the Puck. If the play is 50/50 or even 40/60 then you still might retrieve the Puck. Best to leave a player behind the Goaline so if you do happen to retrieve it you can keep possessing and have some serious options. In your O Zone you get behind the net and make your Reads. -Pass-Pass-Quick Shot-Battle to retrieve. To me % wise this is one of the better ways I have seen to keep generating quality scoring chances. The Puck Carrier into the O Zone is also very important in Hockey. Most Puck Carriers seem to want to drive as deep as they can and then end up dying out in the corners. Defenses want you in the corners and around the boards as it is easier for them to defend. The Puck Carrier is supposed to go only as deep as they need based on what is coming with you. This is where players that can read the game differentiate themselves. If you watch the real good D1 College teams all 5 guys play all 200 feet and your defensemen have no problem going behind the net in the O-Zone. Which means in the near future all 5 players will be interchangeable. This has serious implications for big slow players. The Hockey Gods want you playing a different sport.
Hockey is different than Soccer in regards to Goalies. Goalies in Hockey seem to have to "get set" before reacting to a shot. Not that they don't in Soccer but the Hockey Goalie is dealing with a much faster object. So if you can catch the Goalie before he can "get set up" the better chances of you scoring. Ask your Goalies what makes them most uncomfortable? I am learning some of what they will tell you is moving side to side, when attackers penetrate the slot line it makes the net bigger, when attackers get pucks to or through the slot and force the Goalie to make a decision to defend the shot or defend the pass. Ask the Goalie The Goalie knows.
I remember following Williams Hockey as a little kid with my father. He was the Head Soccer Coach but back then the Coaches had to do double duty. He worked with Men's Lax HC'ing legend Renzi Lamb as the JV Lax HC for maybe 15 years and to this day still hears from his former JV players who were probably Hockey and Football guys out there hitting, running around and just having a blast. I think my father was trying to take some things from the game of Hockey for Lacrosse and I would go to the Hockey games with him. I remember even before HC Kangas it was Coach McCormick at the helm then in the late 80's even before and he was another legend on campus and a super nice guy especially when he would see me running around campus as a little kid he would always stop me and say hello. His wife was actually my 4th Grade Teacher and when I was in her class it was Coach McCormick's final year in I think in 1989. I remember his final game was packed with over 2,500 people including many of his former players.
What I Like: The Speed, The Passing, The Stick Handling, The Hits, The Defending("The Poke") mixed in with the art of Skating.
What I like: Hockey, like Soccer is one of America's finest examples of a melting pot. The names are mostly immigrant names of which I come myself. Irish, Italian, Russian, German, Greek, Jewish, Polish, Hungarian etc etc. The players Great Grandfathers and Grandmothers(or Great-Great) most if not all came to this country somewhere between the 1880's-1930's and had to rely on each other just to survive. All different ethnicities many of whom did not speak English living in the same Tenement's relying on each other to survive. It is an incredible story. The Lower East Side Tenement Museum in NYC is a perfect example of this and shows visually how these families lived. It was like that in all cities and that is why the Klan resurfaced so vividly in the 1920's. They already had their thumb on African Americans but it was the "dirty immigrants" they were after next. I know the Hockey Gods "want to get more diverse" but if you look closely at your history at least in this country you are farther along than you think.
What I Don't Like: I want to watch the games over so I can learn from them but most of these schools throw up a paywall OR worse make the game unavailable. Credit to Colby and Conn for not doing that. I also watch a ton of Babson because I like the way they play and their games are always on replay. Babson is a team that adapts well. Their entries into the O Zone they do not just drive and die in the corners they seem to drive with purpose They play all 200 feet and try to cover the ice and play fast while filling lanes. They are a Senior heavy team with #9 Ryan Black leading the way with some serious talent and their Goaltending and D has been much better of late.
What I Like: Hockey parents get a bad rap as the few I have talked to seem very genuine and knowledgeable. Of course I then had a conversation with a Wesleyan parent 2 years ago when they Won the Nescac Championship. He was complaining about the Trinity parents already celebrating in the Parking Lot in Williamstown after the 1st Period of the Nescac Final. It was only 1-0 but Trinity dominated the 1st Period. Before Wes made their come back the guy was talking about his kid this and that and I was trying to watch the game but half paying attention. His kid happened to be collecting the puck on the boards where we were standing and then out of nowhere a Trin player comes over and blows up HIS kid right in the back and face plants him right up to the boards right where the father and I were standing. Like kid / glass / father planted so I kinda grinned and looked at the father as to say eh tough hit u got some game here and this guy beat me to it yelling at the top of his lungs to the Trin player "Nice HIT Dipsh*t." So like Soccer its a mix of folks but the guy woke me up to "OH its time to get our crazy on".
ME: I had an urge to write and continue to learn about a sport that I find fascinating but never played. I am 40 years old, white, ancestors are immigrants, gay, 5 years sober and have many different interests. I worked as a Business Analyst for 10 years which is considered Middle Office. I switched companies and then went back. I came back to Williamstown one year to Coach with my Father in one of his final seasons. So I've bounced around a bit. For people that do not know Investment Bankers are Front office and the Middle Office functions as basically a support to the Investment Bankers and the Custodians of the Bank are in the Back Office(Operations, etc). The mundane weekly routine that these jobs force you to undertake even in your own personal life and its ridiculous. When they say they own you they mean it. The crazy work hours, tedious routines, constant ladder climbing and the consistent "who is stabbing me in the back this week" routine and I had had enough. So I moved back to Williamstown. I have always enjoyed and will make time for watching College Soccer and now College Hockey especially D3 and of course Nescac. That is in my blood and grew up right in the middle of it every year and something I have a passion for. It can become inter connected with your own life because the games, teams and players are right in front of you. It is competition at its purest. I love that. Because I am in town the hobby kind of morphed into College Hockey as well because I enjoy going to the Williams Men's Hockey games.
Soccer and Hockey have many similarities but the challenge of scoring Goals which is getting harder and harder in both Sports is to me the biggest. Defenses are bigger, stronger, faster and much more organized than in years past. All the video that the Pro's and even the College Guys have makes it even harder. Attacking principles and strategies in Hockey apply to Soccer and vice versa and this is what I am most interested in. The Passing, Stickwork / Footwork, Forecheck / Pressing, Rush/ Counter, Possession, Deception, Set plays Face-offs / Set Pieces, Unpredictability in attack along with adaptability are key in both sports. Forecheck heavy with 3 guys and be willing to give up 2v1's and 3v2's is for Hockey exactly like the risks in Soccer when you Press and what you risk giving up on the counter. Either way you must be able to trust your D men and Goalie. In Hockey just like Soccer teams like to possess but they are not generating enough quality chances off that possession. As in Soccer in Hockey it is so important to make reads and play off the puck. Giving the player with the puck as many options as possible. Bad reads will happen but over time the correct reads with and without the puck will come. Cover the Ice and move off the puck. If you can grab your teammates hand you are not covering Ice. You cannot just stand and watch you have to keep moving in this Sport. To me in the O Zone of Hockey I would rather see a player make a read get 2-3 passes off and then a quick shot and retrieve the puck as fast as you can and keep possessing. If you lose the Puck in your O Zone you do not always have to get above the Puck. If the play is 50/50 or even 40/60 then you still might retrieve the Puck. Best to leave a player behind the Goaline so if you do happen to retrieve it you can keep possessing and have some serious options. In your O Zone you get behind the net and make your Reads. -Pass-Pass-Quick Shot-Battle to retrieve. To me % wise this is one of the better ways I have seen to keep generating quality scoring chances. The Puck Carrier into the O Zone is also very important in Hockey. Most Puck Carriers seem to want to drive as deep as they can and then end up dying out in the corners. Defenses want you in the corners and around the boards as it is easier for them to defend. The Puck Carrier is supposed to go only as deep as they need based on what is coming with you. This is where players that can read the game differentiate themselves. If you watch the real good D1 College teams all 5 guys play all 200 feet and your defensemen have no problem going behind the net in the O-Zone. Which means in the near future all 5 players will be interchangeable. This has serious implications for big slow players. The Hockey Gods want you playing a different sport.
Hockey is different than Soccer in regards to Goalies. Goalies in Hockey seem to have to "get set" before reacting to a shot. Not that they don't in Soccer but the Hockey Goalie is dealing with a much faster object. So if you can catch the Goalie before he can "get set up" the better chances of you scoring. Ask your Goalies what makes them most uncomfortable? I am learning some of what they will tell you is moving side to side, when attackers penetrate the slot line it makes the net bigger, when attackers get pucks to or through the slot and force the Goalie to make a decision to defend the shot or defend the pass. Ask the Goalie The Goalie knows.
I remember following Williams Hockey as a little kid with my father. He was the Head Soccer Coach but back then the Coaches had to do double duty. He worked with Men's Lax HC'ing legend Renzi Lamb as the JV Lax HC for maybe 15 years and to this day still hears from his former JV players who were probably Hockey and Football guys out there hitting, running around and just having a blast. I think my father was trying to take some things from the game of Hockey for Lacrosse and I would go to the Hockey games with him. I remember even before HC Kangas it was Coach McCormick at the helm then in the late 80's even before and he was another legend on campus and a super nice guy especially when he would see me running around campus as a little kid he would always stop me and say hello. His wife was actually my 4th Grade Teacher and when I was in her class it was Coach McCormick's final year in I think in 1989. I remember his final game was packed with over 2,500 people including many of his former players.
What I Like: The Speed, The Passing, The Stick Handling, The Hits, The Defending("The Poke") mixed in with the art of Skating.
What I like: Hockey, like Soccer is one of America's finest examples of a melting pot. The names are mostly immigrant names of which I come myself. Irish, Italian, Russian, German, Greek, Jewish, Polish, Hungarian etc etc. The players Great Grandfathers and Grandmothers(or Great-Great) most if not all came to this country somewhere between the 1880's-1930's and had to rely on each other just to survive. All different ethnicities many of whom did not speak English living in the same Tenement's relying on each other to survive. It is an incredible story. The Lower East Side Tenement Museum in NYC is a perfect example of this and shows visually how these families lived. It was like that in all cities and that is why the Klan resurfaced so vividly in the 1920's. They already had their thumb on African Americans but it was the "dirty immigrants" they were after next. I know the Hockey Gods "want to get more diverse" but if you look closely at your history at least in this country you are farther along than you think.
What I Don't Like: I want to watch the games over so I can learn from them but most of these schools throw up a paywall OR worse make the game unavailable. Credit to Colby and Conn for not doing that. I also watch a ton of Babson because I like the way they play and their games are always on replay. Babson is a team that adapts well. Their entries into the O Zone they do not just drive and die in the corners they seem to drive with purpose They play all 200 feet and try to cover the ice and play fast while filling lanes. They are a Senior heavy team with #9 Ryan Black leading the way with some serious talent and their Goaltending and D has been much better of late.
What I Like: Hockey parents get a bad rap as the few I have talked to seem very genuine and knowledgeable. Of course I then had a conversation with a Wesleyan parent 2 years ago when they Won the Nescac Championship. He was complaining about the Trinity parents already celebrating in the Parking Lot in Williamstown after the 1st Period of the Nescac Final. It was only 1-0 but Trinity dominated the 1st Period. Before Wes made their come back the guy was talking about his kid this and that and I was trying to watch the game but half paying attention. His kid happened to be collecting the puck on the boards where we were standing and then out of nowhere a Trin player comes over and blows up HIS kid right in the back and face plants him right up to the boards right where the father and I were standing. Like kid / glass / father planted so I kinda grinned and looked at the father as to say eh tough hit u got some game here and this guy beat me to it yelling at the top of his lungs to the Trin player "Nice HIT Dipsh*t." So like Soccer its a mix of folks but the guy woke me up to "OH its time to get our crazy on".
ME: I had an urge to write and continue to learn about a sport that I find fascinating but never played. I am 40 years old, white, ancestors are immigrants, gay, 5 years sober and have many different interests. I worked as a Business Analyst for 10 years which is considered Middle Office. I switched companies and then went back. I came back to Williamstown one year to Coach with my Father in one of his final seasons. So I've bounced around a bit. For people that do not know Investment Bankers are Front office and the Middle Office functions as basically a support to the Investment Bankers and the Custodians of the Bank are in the Back Office(Operations, etc). The mundane weekly routine that these jobs force you to undertake even in your own personal life and its ridiculous. When they say they own you they mean it. The crazy work hours, tedious routines, constant ladder climbing and the consistent "who is stabbing me in the back this week" routine and I had had enough. So I moved back to Williamstown. I have always enjoyed and will make time for watching College Soccer and now College Hockey especially D3 and of course Nescac. That is in my blood and grew up right in the middle of it every year and something I have a passion for. It can become inter connected with your own life because the games, teams and players are right in front of you. It is competition at its purest. I love that. Because I am in town the hobby kind of morphed into College Hockey as well because I enjoy going to the Williams Men's Hockey games.
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More rambling:
What a College Hockey game yesterday between Trinity and Hamilton. Hamilton won the game 4-3 in OT and improved to 6-7(5-6) while Trin falls to 9-7(7-5). This game had a playoff feel with both teams competing hard desperate to win the game. I do not know the recent histories between the teams but you can tell there is no love lost between the two. Just a great game with everything in it. Competition, hard hits, snappy wristers, crisp passing, blocks, mistakes, skill, speed, desire and some craziness. The game had long spurts of up and down all 200 feet with plenty of action and with few whistles which I like. The rest of the it was more of a chess match and highly entertaining.
Trinity had LW #29 Jax Murray 7-7-14, C #11 Paul Selleck 2-2-4 and RW #22 Gerrard Marretta 8-6-14 with D men #24 Ned Blanchard 0-2-2 and the Frosh #28 Eamon Doheny 1-2-3 starting the game. The D pairing of #20 Campo 1-6-7 and #23 Andrew Troy 2-1-3 might be one of the more athletic and talented in the league as they also are #1 and #2 in Blocks on the team. 2nd Line of LW #9 Poliziani 2-3-5, C #19 Michaud 4-9-13 and RW #17 Prattson 1-8-9. Trinity got a solid game in goal from #33 Patrick Pugliese.
Hamilton used a Top Line of LW #18 Jordi Jefferson 4-6-10, C #10 Fred Allaire 3-4-7, RW Nick Hawkins 2-4-6. This line has the ability to be one of the best in the league and all 3 work hard. Still they should have even better numbers. Allaire is too talented to have only 3 Goals(1 until yesterday). He does everything F/O's (20-31 yesterday), PK, plays a full 200 and can score. Jefferson had a fantastic SH'er against Midd after he got a clean poke, got in alone on goal and then worked the Midd Goalie with a sick fake and backhander. Hamilton loves this Youngster Line LW #4 William Neault 1-1-2, C #44 McKenzie 1-3-4 and RW #14 Logan Greene 0-0-0. Then you got LW #24 Gellerman 7-2-9, C #20 Moore 0-0-0(11-15 F/O yesterday) and RW #25 Gotovets 5-5-10. Hamilton gave Frosh #42 Charlie Archer his first start of his College career. He was nervous as most Frosh are it just shows itself more in Goal because you are on an island. Then you got Poliziani talking trash after the 1st Goal and the kid could of had a meltdown but credit to the youngster for regaining his composure, playing very well and doing what he does best the rest of the game and that is saving shots.
I was going to dive into each goal but the Hamilton recap did an excellent job of dissecting each one.
I love the camera angle at Hamilton. It gives you a different look of the game and allows you to see the defences and what the Goalie sees but the camera guy needs to know what he is doing. He has to correctly anticipate where the puck is going to help him navigate to the best angle. Yesterday it was solid because you need the skill to know when to zoom and when to pull back, how to make soft turns instead of hard rips and not losing any focus. Even the camera guy needs to read the game. The announcer is good except he does struggle pronouncing those big long scary names. He needs to experience one big Italian Easter dinner and he will be fine. The key is not to pronounce the name in one big mouthful. You got to piece it out at first so it would be Camp-o-me-nosi or Po-liz-i-ani. Easter dinner with the yelling and shouting and craziness would I think do the trick.
It is just confounding that both of these teams are hovering around .500. Trinity had that 4 game losing streak in December but Hamilton has had a tough January. I get it teams have injuries, Covid, crazy travel, bad luck, untimely mistakes, maybe an AWOL but for whatever reason Hamilton have struggled since the break. They were playing well the first two months but now they are similarly like Trinity enigmatic and unable to put a winning streak together. The Hamilton team I saw in Williamstown in December looked more like the team that I saw yesterday. Trinity did get a tough 4 pts out of 6 against two good teams this weekend and they have beaten some very good teams this year. For Hamilton the past month should be forgotten and instead try to build off this Win. A sweep of Trinity is nothing to sneeze at and proves if they focus for a full 60 they have way to much talent to be under .500.
Rumor has it that Trinity's Captain and motor #9 Cole Poliziani likes to have a small bowl of pasta 2 hours before the game for his pregame meal. He sits in peace and focused alone on the bench. No music, no noise, no questions, no decisions, no Frosh babysitting. From what I hear he likes the pasta fresh, hot and spicy. Yesterday he went to sit down to eat and realized he forgot the spice so he had to walk back to the lockeroom to retrieve. Right about the same time Hamilton Defenceman and Alberta native #8 Max Wutzke came strolling by the benches. His senses were on high alert as he could smell the pasta and was starving. Apparently, in the province of Alberta it is customary if you see food without an owner its yours. The kid pulled just an absolute hit and run as he wolfed it and walked off. Poliziani then came back with his spices smiling away and ready to eat. When he saw that empty bowl and fork with one last bite a rush of blood and steam started welling up the back of his neck straight to his head. All you could hear echo from the locker room was Poliziani ranting and raving about "How nothing gets by him and he WILL figure this all out." Long story short his empty stomach morphed into a complete detonation on the ice as he became unglued five minutes into the game with Wutzke getting the brunt of it in front of his goal after the whistle. Safe to say Poliziani figured it all out. That was "the crazy" of the game I was talking about earlier.
What a College Hockey game yesterday between Trinity and Hamilton. Hamilton won the game 4-3 in OT and improved to 6-7(5-6) while Trin falls to 9-7(7-5). This game had a playoff feel with both teams competing hard desperate to win the game. I do not know the recent histories between the teams but you can tell there is no love lost between the two. Just a great game with everything in it. Competition, hard hits, snappy wristers, crisp passing, blocks, mistakes, skill, speed, desire and some craziness. The game had long spurts of up and down all 200 feet with plenty of action and with few whistles which I like. The rest of the it was more of a chess match and highly entertaining.
Trinity had LW #29 Jax Murray 7-7-14, C #11 Paul Selleck 2-2-4 and RW #22 Gerrard Marretta 8-6-14 with D men #24 Ned Blanchard 0-2-2 and the Frosh #28 Eamon Doheny 1-2-3 starting the game. The D pairing of #20 Campo 1-6-7 and #23 Andrew Troy 2-1-3 might be one of the more athletic and talented in the league as they also are #1 and #2 in Blocks on the team. 2nd Line of LW #9 Poliziani 2-3-5, C #19 Michaud 4-9-13 and RW #17 Prattson 1-8-9. Trinity got a solid game in goal from #33 Patrick Pugliese.
Hamilton used a Top Line of LW #18 Jordi Jefferson 4-6-10, C #10 Fred Allaire 3-4-7, RW Nick Hawkins 2-4-6. This line has the ability to be one of the best in the league and all 3 work hard. Still they should have even better numbers. Allaire is too talented to have only 3 Goals(1 until yesterday). He does everything F/O's (20-31 yesterday), PK, plays a full 200 and can score. Jefferson had a fantastic SH'er against Midd after he got a clean poke, got in alone on goal and then worked the Midd Goalie with a sick fake and backhander. Hamilton loves this Youngster Line LW #4 William Neault 1-1-2, C #44 McKenzie 1-3-4 and RW #14 Logan Greene 0-0-0. Then you got LW #24 Gellerman 7-2-9, C #20 Moore 0-0-0(11-15 F/O yesterday) and RW #25 Gotovets 5-5-10. Hamilton gave Frosh #42 Charlie Archer his first start of his College career. He was nervous as most Frosh are it just shows itself more in Goal because you are on an island. Then you got Poliziani talking trash after the 1st Goal and the kid could of had a meltdown but credit to the youngster for regaining his composure, playing very well and doing what he does best the rest of the game and that is saving shots.
I was going to dive into each goal but the Hamilton recap did an excellent job of dissecting each one.
I love the camera angle at Hamilton. It gives you a different look of the game and allows you to see the defences and what the Goalie sees but the camera guy needs to know what he is doing. He has to correctly anticipate where the puck is going to help him navigate to the best angle. Yesterday it was solid because you need the skill to know when to zoom and when to pull back, how to make soft turns instead of hard rips and not losing any focus. Even the camera guy needs to read the game. The announcer is good except he does struggle pronouncing those big long scary names. He needs to experience one big Italian Easter dinner and he will be fine. The key is not to pronounce the name in one big mouthful. You got to piece it out at first so it would be Camp-o-me-nosi or Po-liz-i-ani. Easter dinner with the yelling and shouting and craziness would I think do the trick.
It is just confounding that both of these teams are hovering around .500. Trinity had that 4 game losing streak in December but Hamilton has had a tough January. I get it teams have injuries, Covid, crazy travel, bad luck, untimely mistakes, maybe an AWOL but for whatever reason Hamilton have struggled since the break. They were playing well the first two months but now they are similarly like Trinity enigmatic and unable to put a winning streak together. The Hamilton team I saw in Williamstown in December looked more like the team that I saw yesterday. Trinity did get a tough 4 pts out of 6 against two good teams this weekend and they have beaten some very good teams this year. For Hamilton the past month should be forgotten and instead try to build off this Win. A sweep of Trinity is nothing to sneeze at and proves if they focus for a full 60 they have way to much talent to be under .500.
Rumor has it that Trinity's Captain and motor #9 Cole Poliziani likes to have a small bowl of pasta 2 hours before the game for his pregame meal. He sits in peace and focused alone on the bench. No music, no noise, no questions, no decisions, no Frosh babysitting. From what I hear he likes the pasta fresh, hot and spicy. Yesterday he went to sit down to eat and realized he forgot the spice so he had to walk back to the lockeroom to retrieve. Right about the same time Hamilton Defenceman and Alberta native #8 Max Wutzke came strolling by the benches. His senses were on high alert as he could smell the pasta and was starving. Apparently, in the province of Alberta it is customary if you see food without an owner its yours. The kid pulled just an absolute hit and run as he wolfed it and walked off. Poliziani then came back with his spices smiling away and ready to eat. When he saw that empty bowl and fork with one last bite a rush of blood and steam started welling up the back of his neck straight to his head. All you could hear echo from the locker room was Poliziani ranting and raving about "How nothing gets by him and he WILL figure this all out." Long story short his empty stomach morphed into a complete detonation on the ice as he became unglued five minutes into the game with Wutzke getting the brunt of it in front of his goal after the whistle. Safe to say Poliziani figured it all out. That was "the crazy" of the game I was talking about earlier.
The NESCAC tournament will be open to all teams in the conference. Not all conference games that have been postponed will be made up.
https://nescac.com/news/2022/1/31/n...-basketball-and-ice-hockey-championships.aspx
https://nescac.com/news/2022/1/31/n...-basketball-and-ice-hockey-championships.aspx
Williams at Tufts tonight. Interesting lines with the speedy Defenseman #4 Connor Kucharski starting on the 4th Line tonight as a winger. Nice to see HC Kangas give Goalie #33 Cos Lazzarino a start as he had split the Goal with#31 Evan Ruschil in 2019-2020 but has not played as much his Senior year. He did start against Tufts in December. Also, #5 Jack Simon will see his first action of the year as the xtra skater. Scratches maybe because of Covid or injury look to be Ruschil, #10 Jack Forrest, #11 Jacob Eckerle, #19 Jacob Monroe, #20 Henry Muller and #26 Jonah Gold. Muller played against Conn but the rest of them did not play Friday.
Williams had 2 PPG (#3 Sutton and #6 Lawrick) and a nice SH goal from #13 Tyler Cooligan as Williams defeated Tufts 3-1 in Malden last night. Williams really worked hard and played their game last night. They were organized defensively, stayed in their system and got fantastic goaltending from #33 Cos Laz. Sutton snuck one in the 1st Period as Tufts Goalie #29 Welch got screened and Lawrick scored on a fierce slapper. Tough luck for Tufts Goalie #35 Josh Sarlo who wins the Nescac POW and then for whatever reason did not play last night.
If I were the Tufts HC today which of course I am not I would be p*ssed. I get it some players get so juiced before a game they NEED to hit someone to release that initial energy but you need to be able to control your emotions and stay within the new rules. Every player is different with all kinds of different personalities, skills and Hockey IQ but one thing everyone is capable of is focus, discipline and respecting your teammates. However there MUST be consequences for these undisciplined and unnecessary penalties and ejections. Penalties like everything else is a strategy and I get it penalties will happen but there has to be a line. So for me this team today should be "Skates off, running shoes on". Oh you want to be crazy undisciplined out there than we are running hills today. When I say "We" I mean Coaching staff as well because it is on them to get this team more disciplined. I get the feeling most Hockey players do not derive pleasure from running so this is a perfect opportunity to show them the pleasure in it. Have at it.
Tufts really needs a rink on campus as they then could add a Women's program. I get it that space is tight at Tufts but it would just reinvigorate this program with some serious excitement. Look at what Colby's rink has done. Tufts has a big enough endowment and donors to make it happen. It would be great for the league. Tufts Zamboni "broke down" in between the 2nd and 3rd Periods so the Ice in the 3rd Period was what the announcer said would be like playing Pond Hockey. Is this a normal occurrence in Hockey? Seems to me this could even be used as a strategy in big time D1 Hockey. Fake a breakdown if a team is putting on a stick handling and passing clinic and slow the opponent down. I am not questioning the Tufts Zamboni as I am sure it really did break down but was just wondering if this could be a strategy some shady HC would use?
If I were the Tufts HC today which of course I am not I would be p*ssed. I get it some players get so juiced before a game they NEED to hit someone to release that initial energy but you need to be able to control your emotions and stay within the new rules. Every player is different with all kinds of different personalities, skills and Hockey IQ but one thing everyone is capable of is focus, discipline and respecting your teammates. However there MUST be consequences for these undisciplined and unnecessary penalties and ejections. Penalties like everything else is a strategy and I get it penalties will happen but there has to be a line. So for me this team today should be "Skates off, running shoes on". Oh you want to be crazy undisciplined out there than we are running hills today. When I say "We" I mean Coaching staff as well because it is on them to get this team more disciplined. I get the feeling most Hockey players do not derive pleasure from running so this is a perfect opportunity to show them the pleasure in it. Have at it.
Tufts really needs a rink on campus as they then could add a Women's program. I get it that space is tight at Tufts but it would just reinvigorate this program with some serious excitement. Look at what Colby's rink has done. Tufts has a big enough endowment and donors to make it happen. It would be great for the league. Tufts Zamboni "broke down" in between the 2nd and 3rd Periods so the Ice in the 3rd Period was what the announcer said would be like playing Pond Hockey. Is this a normal occurrence in Hockey? Seems to me this could even be used as a strategy in big time D1 Hockey. Fake a breakdown if a team is putting on a stick handling and passing clinic and slow the opponent down. I am not questioning the Tufts Zamboni as I am sure it really did break down but was just wondering if this could be a strategy some shady HC would use?
Conn and Colby finished a hard fought battle 3-3 in New London last night. An excellent effort by both teams and just the beginning for The Mules when it comes to seeing their opponents best effort every game now down the stretch. Colby is now 11-3-1(8-2-1) and Conn 5-8-2(5-6-1) but Conn is playing well right now with a record of 4-1-2 in their last 7 games after a rough start to their season. They do not treat their fans well though as they are 0-4-2 at Home and 5-4-0 on the Road. Conn is sitting in 8th Place right now and their "goal" for the next few weeks before the Nescac Championship should be to finish in the Top 6 or better to avoid that Friday Play-In game.
1st Period both teams were kind of feeling it out, not taking too many chances and staying within their system. Both were really working hard to try to establish an advantage anywhere on the Ice. Colby players do a nice job in their O Zone without the puck. I like how the players are trying to move towards their teammate with the puck to create a switch and cause confusion for the defense. Conn did a good job in the Neutral Zone disrupting Colby's push and then creating a couple good scoring chances out of it.
2nd Period #20 Jack Sullivan and the Mules struck first. A shot from the blue line near the boards by Colby D #23 Jalen Kaplan was saved by Conn Senior Goalie #35 Mike McHale with his left pad. He guided the puck to his left to clear it but Sullivan being the gamer that he is was in the right spot at the right time and wide open to bury the rebound. My namesake Conn's #10 Russo got caught sleeping and lost Sullivan and that will happen with Frosh sometimes but the kid Russo is talented and his speed created two breakaway's during the game that he did not bury but you can tell what will be coming in the years ahead. Sullivan for his part 2 minutes later almost had another one as Colby's #3 John McElaney found Sullivan again wide open on the weak side with a great pass. It could have been 2-0 but McHale was up to the task.
Conn would draw even about 6 minutes later in the 2nd Period. Colby's D #48 Max O'Brien tried to make a tough pass in the neutral zone when Conn's #26 Kei Yasuda read it well and picked it off. Yasuda then started driving to the goal with his speed but because O'Brien immediately realized his mistake and recovered he was fast enough to get between Yasuda and the Goal. Yasuda for his part read that as well because he immediately stopped and cut when he saw what O'Brien had planned. He left O'Brien in his skates with the deke and snapped a wrister from the high slot to beat Colby's Goalie #33 Andy Beran. Yasuda is a high energy guy and wins those faceoffs(11-19 last night) on that 2nd Shutdown line with #12 Senese and #14 Vaughan and was pumped after scoring his first Career Goal.
Conn IMO has one of the more dangerous Top Line's in Nescac as they lead their team in scoring #1,#2 and #3. LW #21 Paul Capozzi 6-4-10, C #9 Seth Stadheim 3-5-8 and RW #27 Anthony Quatieri 5-5-10. Capozzi is always in the right place and Quatieri I do not know how many times I have seen him snap that wrister from the dot to beat goalies this year on the PP. It has been nasty including the Winner against Midd on Sunday with about 20 seconds left in OT. Stadheim is another workhorse and really compliments his linemates well by being unselfish and hunting the puck. Conn's 2nd Goal was a nice F/O Win for C #9 Stadheim as he got control of the puck and bound around the goal for a wraparound try. There was no way Colby's super cat quick Goalie #33 Andy Beran was getting beat like that but the rebound off the pad bounced right to a wide open Capozzi who buried it.
3rd Period I have no idea how Conn did not score on its PP in the opening few minutes. The top Line was out there and created about 4 dangerous chances but they could not bury it. It would have been 3-1 and then Conn could have settled into a more cautious defensive zone puck recovery and then dump and chase with a conservative forecheck. It was not to be as Colby evened things up 6 minutes into the period on a PP Goal from Grillo. Some crispy passing from #14 Breitenfeldt, #3 McElaney and then the best from #12 Bourhas on the goaline to a charging #8 Grillo across to the weak side and Colby diced up the Conn PK in a mini 30 second clinic.
Conn regained the lead two minutes later on Quatieri's PP Goal to make it 3-2. Conn put on it's own clinic with some nice passing between #17 Fournier and Capozzi with again Quatieri scoring as he cannot be given an inch of space over near that dot on the weak side or he will score.
Colby got the final Goal of the game to even things up 3-3 on a great individual effort by #9 Brian Sanzone as he finished off his own rebound. He worked hard off the puck and retrieved it from #2 Michael Thomas(not sure why no Assist?) in the neutral zone, left two Conn players in the dust and frankly it was like the Red Sea parting as Sanzone had a free wrister to clean up himself and bury it he did.
Conn seems to have excellent Upperclassman examples(D #5 Radochia, #12 Senese, #13 Uhler, D #17 Fournier, #22 Scheschareg) for the youngsters and really solid Captains in #20 C Chris Adamsons who got player of the game at Hamilton and RW #25 Kyle Shero 1-2-3 who were joined yesterday by LW #10 Russo on Conn's shutdown line. If that line is clicking both ways and Conn's Top Line is scoring and they get good Goaltending they could make a run in a couple weeks. Especially because they will be on the Road and have proven they can Win on the Road this year. Conn has some really good young players and what looks to be a small pipeline from Kimball Union Academy. The Goalie #1 Sean Dynan, #2 John Harrington, #8 Devan Newhook, #9 Seth Stadheim, #10 Russo, #11 Tyler Harvey, #14 Jake Vaughan, #15 Jake Hughes, #18 Bjorn Schuepbach, #26 Yasuda, #28 Sean Detloff and #29 Will Winship. These youngsters have given Conn some great energy and production this year as they have all been chipping in. Vaughan 1-1-2 is a big boy on skates and can rip the slapper but also works real hard. Newhook 1-5-6 is a workhorse and saved a sure Colby Goal yesterday with his hustle off a giveaway and then showed courage by dropping to the ice to block a hard shot later in the period. He leads the team in blocks. Another kid that battles is Schuepbach who is right behind Newhook in blocks. Schuepbach and Hughes 0-2-2 are tough kids and use all of their 5'8 frame out there. Hughes delivers some solid hits which then allows Conn to regain possession. #2 Harrington and #11 Harvey played well as a pairing yesterday. #28 Detloff has not played since the Hamilton game in mid January but he was leading the team in blocks with 13 up until that point. So all these guys they will make some mistakes but the learning process and playing time they are getting now not only is helping today but will really pay off for this program in the years to come.
Excellent competitive game and stay unafraid in life.
1st Period both teams were kind of feeling it out, not taking too many chances and staying within their system. Both were really working hard to try to establish an advantage anywhere on the Ice. Colby players do a nice job in their O Zone without the puck. I like how the players are trying to move towards their teammate with the puck to create a switch and cause confusion for the defense. Conn did a good job in the Neutral Zone disrupting Colby's push and then creating a couple good scoring chances out of it.
2nd Period #20 Jack Sullivan and the Mules struck first. A shot from the blue line near the boards by Colby D #23 Jalen Kaplan was saved by Conn Senior Goalie #35 Mike McHale with his left pad. He guided the puck to his left to clear it but Sullivan being the gamer that he is was in the right spot at the right time and wide open to bury the rebound. My namesake Conn's #10 Russo got caught sleeping and lost Sullivan and that will happen with Frosh sometimes but the kid Russo is talented and his speed created two breakaway's during the game that he did not bury but you can tell what will be coming in the years ahead. Sullivan for his part 2 minutes later almost had another one as Colby's #3 John McElaney found Sullivan again wide open on the weak side with a great pass. It could have been 2-0 but McHale was up to the task.
Conn would draw even about 6 minutes later in the 2nd Period. Colby's D #48 Max O'Brien tried to make a tough pass in the neutral zone when Conn's #26 Kei Yasuda read it well and picked it off. Yasuda then started driving to the goal with his speed but because O'Brien immediately realized his mistake and recovered he was fast enough to get between Yasuda and the Goal. Yasuda for his part read that as well because he immediately stopped and cut when he saw what O'Brien had planned. He left O'Brien in his skates with the deke and snapped a wrister from the high slot to beat Colby's Goalie #33 Andy Beran. Yasuda is a high energy guy and wins those faceoffs(11-19 last night) on that 2nd Shutdown line with #12 Senese and #14 Vaughan and was pumped after scoring his first Career Goal.
Conn IMO has one of the more dangerous Top Line's in Nescac as they lead their team in scoring #1,#2 and #3. LW #21 Paul Capozzi 6-4-10, C #9 Seth Stadheim 3-5-8 and RW #27 Anthony Quatieri 5-5-10. Capozzi is always in the right place and Quatieri I do not know how many times I have seen him snap that wrister from the dot to beat goalies this year on the PP. It has been nasty including the Winner against Midd on Sunday with about 20 seconds left in OT. Stadheim is another workhorse and really compliments his linemates well by being unselfish and hunting the puck. Conn's 2nd Goal was a nice F/O Win for C #9 Stadheim as he got control of the puck and bound around the goal for a wraparound try. There was no way Colby's super cat quick Goalie #33 Andy Beran was getting beat like that but the rebound off the pad bounced right to a wide open Capozzi who buried it.
3rd Period I have no idea how Conn did not score on its PP in the opening few minutes. The top Line was out there and created about 4 dangerous chances but they could not bury it. It would have been 3-1 and then Conn could have settled into a more cautious defensive zone puck recovery and then dump and chase with a conservative forecheck. It was not to be as Colby evened things up 6 minutes into the period on a PP Goal from Grillo. Some crispy passing from #14 Breitenfeldt, #3 McElaney and then the best from #12 Bourhas on the goaline to a charging #8 Grillo across to the weak side and Colby diced up the Conn PK in a mini 30 second clinic.
Conn regained the lead two minutes later on Quatieri's PP Goal to make it 3-2. Conn put on it's own clinic with some nice passing between #17 Fournier and Capozzi with again Quatieri scoring as he cannot be given an inch of space over near that dot on the weak side or he will score.
Colby got the final Goal of the game to even things up 3-3 on a great individual effort by #9 Brian Sanzone as he finished off his own rebound. He worked hard off the puck and retrieved it from #2 Michael Thomas(not sure why no Assist?) in the neutral zone, left two Conn players in the dust and frankly it was like the Red Sea parting as Sanzone had a free wrister to clean up himself and bury it he did.
Conn seems to have excellent Upperclassman examples(D #5 Radochia, #12 Senese, #13 Uhler, D #17 Fournier, #22 Scheschareg) for the youngsters and really solid Captains in #20 C Chris Adamsons who got player of the game at Hamilton and RW #25 Kyle Shero 1-2-3 who were joined yesterday by LW #10 Russo on Conn's shutdown line. If that line is clicking both ways and Conn's Top Line is scoring and they get good Goaltending they could make a run in a couple weeks. Especially because they will be on the Road and have proven they can Win on the Road this year. Conn has some really good young players and what looks to be a small pipeline from Kimball Union Academy. The Goalie #1 Sean Dynan, #2 John Harrington, #8 Devan Newhook, #9 Seth Stadheim, #10 Russo, #11 Tyler Harvey, #14 Jake Vaughan, #15 Jake Hughes, #18 Bjorn Schuepbach, #26 Yasuda, #28 Sean Detloff and #29 Will Winship. These youngsters have given Conn some great energy and production this year as they have all been chipping in. Vaughan 1-1-2 is a big boy on skates and can rip the slapper but also works real hard. Newhook 1-5-6 is a workhorse and saved a sure Colby Goal yesterday with his hustle off a giveaway and then showed courage by dropping to the ice to block a hard shot later in the period. He leads the team in blocks. Another kid that battles is Schuepbach who is right behind Newhook in blocks. Schuepbach and Hughes 0-2-2 are tough kids and use all of their 5'8 frame out there. Hughes delivers some solid hits which then allows Conn to regain possession. #2 Harrington and #11 Harvey played well as a pairing yesterday. #28 Detloff has not played since the Hamilton game in mid January but he was leading the team in blocks with 13 up until that point. So all these guys they will make some mistakes but the learning process and playing time they are getting now not only is helping today but will really pay off for this program in the years to come.
Excellent competitive game and stay unafraid in life.
Tonight 5 Big Games but unfortunately Williams is still keeping athletic events closed except to those in its testing nest. Amherst and Williams since at least I have been breathing always have to be different. They always have to go above the rest of the schools in the league in just the slightest ways. It is what it is. The rest of Nescac seems fine with allowing outside spectators as long as they are vaccinated and masked but Amherst made a quick snap decision and of course Williams follows suit. I feel really badly for the parents because you only have so many more chances to see your kid compete and play before he wanders off into the real world. Seasons and Hockey careers ending are very hard for some athletes and maybe not so hard on others but usually the parent can sense when the end is coming as they start to really cherish every moment they can watch their kid in person especially Seniors. Moving On.....
5 Games:
Trinity(-1 1/2) at Midd 5
Amherst at Colby(-1/2) 5 1/2
Wes at Williams (PK) 5
Hamilton at Bowdoin(PK) 4
Conn(-1/2) at Tufts 5 1/2
5 Games:
Trinity(-1 1/2) at Midd 5
Amherst at Colby(-1/2) 5 1/2
Wes at Williams (PK) 5
Hamilton at Bowdoin(PK) 4
Conn(-1/2) at Tufts 5 1/2
bakdraft21
Well-known member
I'll give Mr write some props for his looooooooong informative posts....nice job
FLHockeyMom
New member
Tonight 5 Big Games but unfortunately Williams is still keeping athletic events closed except to those in its testing nest. Amherst and Williams since at least I have been breathing always have to be different. They always have to go above the rest of the schools in the league in just the slightest ways. It is what it is. The rest of Nescac seems fine with allowing outside spectators as long as they are vaccinated and masked but Amherst made a quick snap decision and of course Williams follows suit. I feel really badly for the parents because you only have so many more chances to see your kid compete and play before he wanders off into the real world. Seasons and Hockey careers ending are very hard for some athletes and maybe not so hard on others but usually the parent can sense when the end is coming as they start to really cherish every moment they can watch their kid in person especially Seniors. Moving On.....
5 Games:
Trinity(-1 1/2) at Midd 5
Amherst at Colby(-1/2) 5 1/2
Wes at Williams (PK) 5
Hamilton at Bowdoin(PK) 4
Conn(-1/2) at Tufts 5 1/2
Looks like Amherst at Colby has been postponed until potentially Sunday due to inclement weather. And I agree with bakdraft21 that your posts are quite informative for those who care about NESCAC hockey.
Thanks....I get it Nescac Hockey is not totally respected but the key is that I care. So I will keep writing because I am just fascinated with this Sport. Yes you are correct it looks like Amherst / Colby is postponed to Sunday which I am not sure is about snowstorm travel because Hamilton is making the same trip(they are travel partners) tonight to Bowdoin. Either way I will not complain as it gives us another Sunday showcase. I fully expect Amherst and Hamilton to give Colby a very tough weekend.
FLHockeyMom
New member
Thanks....I get it Nescac Hockey is not totally respected but the key is that I care. So I will keep writing because I am just fascinated with this Sport. Yes you are correct it looks like Amherst / Colby is postponed to Sunday which I am not sure is about snowstorm travel because Hamilton is making the same trip(they are travel partners) tonight to Bowdoin. Either way I will not complain as it gives us another Sunday showcase. I fully expect Amherst and Hamilton to give Colby a very tough weekend.
My understanding is that Hamilton travelled yesterday.
This league is absolutely ridiculous with the NSN streaming. Colby and Conn give free access to all their Home games anytime you want to watch after the fact. You then have some schools do the same but throw up a paywall which is understandable I suppose for On-Demand games. Then you have Williams and Amherst which do NOT even allow an On Demand service. If you do not watch a webcast live you will have to wait until the NCAA Championship in that sport has concluded before you can watch any games from the season. As if the game was never played and disappeared into thin air. You have ten teams and they should ALL follow the same procedure. How is it fair to Colby and Conn who should be applauded for not being "scared" of getting scouted. All the games should be ON all the time. If you want to throw up a paywall fine but what Williams and Amherst do is not right especially with parents BEING UNABLE TO ATTEND HOME GAMES at those respective schools.
Then you have last night.....
Amherst athletics does not properly plan for a snow storm and have to then rearrange all their teams schedules. Ok fine but now for Hockey Amherst and Colby have an advantage for Saturday. They unlike Hamilton and Bowdoin will have not played a game while Hamilton and Bowdoin played last night. Also, both Amherst and Colby Coaching Staff's would be able to scout the game either live(Colby) or on the stream(Amherst). Bowdoin apparently had had enough and decided not to broadcast the stream. Unless I am missing something and please someone correct me if I am wrong but my HUNCHis that both Bowdoin and Hamilton did not think it fair that Amherst and Colby not only get a free rest day but also a free "viewing party" of their game. So they decided to "cut the cord". Do these people realize how many parents have not been able to go to games live for the past month and a half? Do they know how many of these families reside in Canada or elsewhere in the United States and RELY on the stream to see their kid? Maybe they gave access to only families before the game somehow but I highly doubt it. I understand it is not fair what Amherst and Colby had to do but because of Amherst's poor planning those Hamilton and Bowdoin parents unable to attend live got smacked in the face. Oh and by the way your tuition bill is due in 2 weeks.
You should WANT people to watch your games especially recruits. You should want your opponents to scout your really good juicy games to get the opponent worried about this and that. Scouting happens and yes you can get a good feel for players strengths and weaknesses and what a team is trying to do in that game but it also can screw you up. You start to overthink and plan for this and that because you saw the opponent do something on the stream but then when you play that team they are doing something completely different. That is why unpredictability and adaptability is so important for a team to have. Unless you watch a team 3-5 times before you play them you will not know everything and certainly you will get fooled by something. That being said it still is an advantage when it comes to watching individual players and what they can or cannot do well. This is why the same procedures for all schools need to be in place with an option to view the game On-Demand. Each individual school can then decide whether to have a paywall or not.
Yes this is kind of a rant but all teams should be on level ICE. No "cut the cord Bill", No "games disappearing into thin air", No "Roger make sure you either break off one of the Zamboni's gaskets or kill the water valve after the 2nd if we are getting smoked" and NO " shenanigans". Level Ice....Finito
Then you have last night.....
Amherst athletics does not properly plan for a snow storm and have to then rearrange all their teams schedules. Ok fine but now for Hockey Amherst and Colby have an advantage for Saturday. They unlike Hamilton and Bowdoin will have not played a game while Hamilton and Bowdoin played last night. Also, both Amherst and Colby Coaching Staff's would be able to scout the game either live(Colby) or on the stream(Amherst). Bowdoin apparently had had enough and decided not to broadcast the stream. Unless I am missing something and please someone correct me if I am wrong but my HUNCHis that both Bowdoin and Hamilton did not think it fair that Amherst and Colby not only get a free rest day but also a free "viewing party" of their game. So they decided to "cut the cord". Do these people realize how many parents have not been able to go to games live for the past month and a half? Do they know how many of these families reside in Canada or elsewhere in the United States and RELY on the stream to see their kid? Maybe they gave access to only families before the game somehow but I highly doubt it. I understand it is not fair what Amherst and Colby had to do but because of Amherst's poor planning those Hamilton and Bowdoin parents unable to attend live got smacked in the face. Oh and by the way your tuition bill is due in 2 weeks.
You should WANT people to watch your games especially recruits. You should want your opponents to scout your really good juicy games to get the opponent worried about this and that. Scouting happens and yes you can get a good feel for players strengths and weaknesses and what a team is trying to do in that game but it also can screw you up. You start to overthink and plan for this and that because you saw the opponent do something on the stream but then when you play that team they are doing something completely different. That is why unpredictability and adaptability is so important for a team to have. Unless you watch a team 3-5 times before you play them you will not know everything and certainly you will get fooled by something. That being said it still is an advantage when it comes to watching individual players and what they can or cannot do well. This is why the same procedures for all schools need to be in place with an option to view the game On-Demand. Each individual school can then decide whether to have a paywall or not.
Yes this is kind of a rant but all teams should be on level ICE. No "cut the cord Bill", No "games disappearing into thin air", No "Roger make sure you either break off one of the Zamboni's gaskets or kill the water valve after the 2nd if we are getting smoked" and NO " shenanigans". Level Ice....Finito
A little love for Wes:
After defeating Williams 3-0 last night Wesleyan improved to 8-8-2(7-4-2). They have now Won three consecutive Road games and are 5-2-2 on the Road this year with another Road game at Midd today. You get the feeling Wes remembered the 6-1 drubbing Williams put on them a couple weeks back as Williams was rubbing it in their face a bit in Middletown. You also get the feeling Wes is really hungry to finish what they started in 2019-20. They lost Sestak, Harris, Fox and a couple others but still have a good core from that team. They won the Nescac Championship but the NCAA's were cancelled because of Covid and it looks like they want their chance that was taken from them. They are the defending Nescac Champs until someone knocks them off and are starting to get some consistent Goaltending which is absolutely going to make or break this dangerous team. It was going to be impossible to replace Goalie Tim Sestak '20 right away and all 3 Goalies that Wes have used this year #30 Erik Voloshin, #31 Marc Smith and #1 Nate Romanelli have had some growing pains. However, the past 3 Games Marc Smith has started to find his rhythm and I would keep going to him because he is in a zone right now and you do not want to lose that. This team does not have that one super top line but what they do have is the ability to roll 4 lines without losing much. I guess I mean to say they have considerable depth offensively. I remember #13 Danny Sorabella, #15 Colin Cobb #16 Stevie O'Connor and #19 Wiggle Kerbrat from Championship weekend in Williamstown 2 years ago. Those four work their butt off and O'Connor single handily frustrated Trinity so much in that Championship game he had the whole Trin team ready to go for him. O'Connor is not scared to play the villain and does not care whether teams like him or not. I really respect that as there are too many guys worried about what others are thinking and you can tell he could care less. Defensively they are just as deep and talented. #22 Matt Zandi and #2 Emmet Powell are incredibly skilled defenseman and excellent puck carriers. They have #7 Jake LaChance who scored a "wicked wristah" over Williams Frosh Goalie #30 Cal Sandquist left shoulder as he made a great read off the puck from the point to get in position down on the dot and was able to squeeze one on goal. Movement off the puck is absolutely critical in this Sport. #4 Tiger Bjornland, #5 Mike Dunderdale and #28 Liam Donelan are just good athletes and very good D-Men. Wes is one of the deepest teams in the league and if they can keep the Goalie Smith this confident then they will be in very good position to defend their Nescac Championship.
After defeating Williams 3-0 last night Wesleyan improved to 8-8-2(7-4-2). They have now Won three consecutive Road games and are 5-2-2 on the Road this year with another Road game at Midd today. You get the feeling Wes remembered the 6-1 drubbing Williams put on them a couple weeks back as Williams was rubbing it in their face a bit in Middletown. You also get the feeling Wes is really hungry to finish what they started in 2019-20. They lost Sestak, Harris, Fox and a couple others but still have a good core from that team. They won the Nescac Championship but the NCAA's were cancelled because of Covid and it looks like they want their chance that was taken from them. They are the defending Nescac Champs until someone knocks them off and are starting to get some consistent Goaltending which is absolutely going to make or break this dangerous team. It was going to be impossible to replace Goalie Tim Sestak '20 right away and all 3 Goalies that Wes have used this year #30 Erik Voloshin, #31 Marc Smith and #1 Nate Romanelli have had some growing pains. However, the past 3 Games Marc Smith has started to find his rhythm and I would keep going to him because he is in a zone right now and you do not want to lose that. This team does not have that one super top line but what they do have is the ability to roll 4 lines without losing much. I guess I mean to say they have considerable depth offensively. I remember #13 Danny Sorabella, #15 Colin Cobb #16 Stevie O'Connor and #19 Wiggle Kerbrat from Championship weekend in Williamstown 2 years ago. Those four work their butt off and O'Connor single handily frustrated Trinity so much in that Championship game he had the whole Trin team ready to go for him. O'Connor is not scared to play the villain and does not care whether teams like him or not. I really respect that as there are too many guys worried about what others are thinking and you can tell he could care less. Defensively they are just as deep and talented. #22 Matt Zandi and #2 Emmet Powell are incredibly skilled defenseman and excellent puck carriers. They have #7 Jake LaChance who scored a "wicked wristah" over Williams Frosh Goalie #30 Cal Sandquist left shoulder as he made a great read off the puck from the point to get in position down on the dot and was able to squeeze one on goal. Movement off the puck is absolutely critical in this Sport. #4 Tiger Bjornland, #5 Mike Dunderdale and #28 Liam Donelan are just good athletes and very good D-Men. Wes is one of the deepest teams in the league and if they can keep the Goalie Smith this confident then they will be in very good position to defend their Nescac Championship.
This league is absolutely ridiculous with the NSN streaming. Colby and Conn give free access to all their Home games anytime you want to watch after the fact. You then have some schools do the same but throw up a paywall which is understandable I suppose for On-Demand games. Then you have Williams and Amherst which do NOT even allow an On Demand service. If you do not watch a webcast live you will have to wait until the NCAA Championship in that sport has concluded before you can watch any games from the season. As if the game was never played and disappeared into thin air. You have ten teams and they should ALL follow the same procedure. How is it fair to Colby and Conn who should be applauded for not being "scared" of getting scouted. All the games should be ON all the time. If you want to throw up a paywall fine but what Williams and Amherst do is not right especially with parents BEING UNABLE TO ATTEND HOME GAMES at those respective schools.
I remember from a couple of years ago watching one of the Wesleyan broadcast games on NSN and having the announcer essentially begging for donations to the Wesleyan atheletic department because NSN was charging $50,000 per year to stream their games and the athletics department didn't have the budget for that. I get that video streaming is expensive, and that video hosting is expensive because bandwidth is expensive. And based upon your description I could easily reverse engineer the access tiers NSN offers for their services. The advertising on the site isn't going to support that, I don't need to login or create accounts to view games which I really like. And the broadcast a number high school sports.
I agree, it would be nice to have more access to the video streams would be nice. And if you're a parent or alumni or connected to the school you might be able to ask for a login to get access.
Trinity at Williams 3pm -Trinity looks to be without their big Defenseman #8 Jacob Borgida who did not play at Midd but other than that they had their usual lineup. Borgida is a good player for them and Williams might benefit with him out. Still though Williams was without #12 Mac Carso, #17 Connor Tobin, #19 Jacob Monroe and #20 Henry Muller among others last night v Wes. Good to see #10 Jack Forrest back and I know he is trying to be unselfish and a good teammate / linemate this season but I'd really like to see him get just a bit more selfish right now like Carso just until the team can get going on the offensive end. Either way his speed and 2 way game is much needed back in the lineup and his work ethic has been fantastic all year. Another guy that needs to get going for Williams is #25 Nick Altmann. He had numbers of 11-5-16 in 2019-20 but is 2-4-6 right now. #9 Niko was 12-8-20 in 2019-20 and now is 3-7-10 but really playing banged up you can tell. He is their warrior leader for sure and has the courage to get his *ss in front of the goal and sits there until someone proves they can clear him out but I am hoping some of these guys can get going starting today. These guys along with Carso are their horses offensively. While there has been some mistakes on the D end its nothing out of the ordinary for any team and frankly Lawrick, Sutton, Alsaif have all been chipping in offensively. Williams has also gotten stellar play from its Goalies so now we need to get it going in the O zone.
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