BLTF 032717
BEARS vs. BEARS
Cornell (Marshall Peters, Jack Bolen, Colton Rupp) 15
Colgate (Griffin Brown, Robby Dunnigan) 6
Cornell picked up their first win of the season in this mid-week contest. Colgate jumped out to a 2-0 lead to start the game, but the Big Red kicked it into gear and scored 5 straight to take a lead they would not surrender. The end of that 5 goal run started a “Bear Sandwich” in which there were goals in succession by Colton, then Griffin, then Colton again. Soon after that, Griffin assisted on a goal that pulled the Raiders within one, but another Big Red scoring wave, this time 8 unanswered goals, stretched into the fourth quarter and proved to be the difference.
Colton totaled three goals for Cornell with Marshall contributing 2 ground balls and a caused turnover. Jack took 2 shots on the day. For the Raiders, Griffin had one goal and one assist as cited above, plus five ground balls.
Navy (Tom Evans) 11
Dartmouth (Landon McKenzie) 6
In the week’s other Ivy vs. Patriot League/Bears vs. Bears match, the PL evened things up as Navy won each of the game’s four quarters to secure a non-conference win. Landon again saw playing time for the Big Green.
Penn (Garrett Fellows, Peter Laco) 10
Cornell (Marshall Peters, Jack Bolen, Colton Rupp) 9
Cornell fell to 0-2 in conference play while Penn was able to move up to 1-1. With 10 minutes left in the game, Cornell was up two. However, the Quakers scored the last 3 of the game to get the win. Cornell won the last faceoff of the game and got off a couple of shots in the last two minutes, but could not convert.
Although the Landon men at Cornell were kept off the score board, they recorded 8 ground balls between them, accounting for 25% of all of Big Red’s ground ball production on the day.
Johns Hopkins (Sam Lynch) 18 OT
Virginia (Jason Murphy, Jack Falk, Michael Rhoads) 17
You may have noticed that UVA games are rather high-scoring affairs this year. The new coaching staff imported from Brown has definitely changed the pace and character of the Wahoos. This game unfolded as a bit of a mirror image of the UVA-Cornell bout of a few weeks ago. UVA led early in the game, stretching their lead to 5 goals with just under 6 minutes remaining in the third quarter. Then things started to click for the Blue Jays who went on a 9-1 run that gave them a 3-goal lead with just over 2 minutes remaining in the contest. Virginia stormed back, scoring 3 goals in 1:40 of game time to force overtime. In overtime, UVA won the faceoff, but turned the ball over, which ultimately led to the Blue Jays’ winning goal.
Jason was 12 of 24 on faceoffs and both Jack and Michael saw playing time for the ‘Hoos. For Jack this was his first action of the year after having been sidelined with an Achilles injury.
OTHER GAMES
Bucknell (Sean O’Brien, Jarett Witzal) 8
Villanova 13
Villanova dominated scoring in the first half of the contest then split goals with the Bison in the second to pick up the win. Sean got 2 goals on 8 shots while Jarett was 11-for-23 on faceoffs with 6 ground balls.
Bucknell (Sean O’Brien, Jarett Witzal) 9 2OT
Loyola 8
The Bison picked up a huge Patriot League win over the Greyhounds. Since coming to the PL, Loyola has been the top team in the league. The win keeps the Bison in picture for the conference’s tournament.
Sean scored once on 11 shots (Keep Shooting!) with his goal putting the Bison up 8-7 late in the fourth quarter. Loyola was able to knot if up at 8 with two minutes remaining. Each team had opportunities in the first overtime period, with Sean’s shot for Bucknell going wide. The Bison won the second half faceoff and were working the ball in when Loyola forced a turnover. The Bison offense quickly rode that turnover back in their favor and moved the ball quickly to the crease for the game winner.
Cleveland State (Justin Conner) 8
Penn State 15
Cleveland State’s first season has been marked by one-sided losses against some tough D-I competition. With a virtually all freshman roster, the Vikings have seen more than their share of final scores of many to few. Justin has appeared in 8 of the team’s 10 games so far, gaining valuable experience under intense fire.
Colgate (Griffin Brown, Robby Dunigan) 8
Army 10
Army won the fourth quarter in a closely contested game. Colgate led 3-2 at the end of the first period as Robby Dunigan’s timely assist led to a goal just ahead of the buzzer. The Raiders had a three goal lead midway through the second period when Griffin scored, but Army shut them down for 27 minutes, during which the Black Knights scored 5 goals to take the lead. Colgate battled back, taking the lead back after scoring two straight, only to see Army close out the game with a three goal run. Griffin registered 3 points in the contest with 2 goals and an assist.
Dartmouth (Landon McKenzie) 7
Harvard 14
The Big Green opened their Ivy conference play with a loss to the Crimson
Hobart (Riley McTague, Koko Avedisian) 7
Sacred Heart 8
It all came down to the fourth quarter and Sacred Heart pitched a 1-0 shutout in the final period, saving all three of Hobart’s shots on goal and taking advantage of six Hobart turnovers in the quarter.
Jacksonville (Andrew Mitchell, Zac Buller) 9 OT
Air Force 10
Jacksonville remains winless for 2017 with outcomes either being one goal losses or outright thumpings. The Dolphins rode a 4-0 second quarter to a 7-3 halftime advantage. Unfortunately, Air Force matched that in the third quarter and the game was tied heading into the fourth. Each team posted a pair of goals and so it was time for overtime. Air Force, which had the advantage on faceoffs so far in the game, won the overtime faceoff and maintained possession until they capitalized with just 7 seconds left. Andrew Mitchell had one ground ball for Jacksonville.
Navy (Tom Evans) 14
Lehigh 9
Navy picked up their second win of the week and a Patriot League conference win at that. David Little broke a 74-year old Navy scoring record by 9 goals in the game, an amazing accomplishment considering he took only 9 shots on the day. The win raises Navy to 2-3 in conference and keeps them in the mix for a spot in the Patriot League tournament.
Princeton (Mark Strabo) 13
Yale 16
Princeton’s strong offensive output continued, but Yale was ready. Yale scored 5 goals in an 8 minute stretch of the third quarter to take control of what had been an even contest up to that point. Despite giving up 16 goals, Princeton’s goalie had a strong outing, stopping 18 of the 34 shots that the Eli put on the cage.
D-I POLLS
The topsy-turvy year continues with wide some wide disagreement among the polls, particularly with respect to the last 5 slots of these top 20’s. Quint’s a bit of an outlier on some of his rankings, but that shouldn’t come as a surprise.
THIS COMING WEEK, BEARS VS. BEARS
- Dartmouth @ Cornell
D-III
BEARS VS BEARS
Salisbury (Brian Menendez) 25
Marymount (Asst. Coach Wes Lincoln) 3
There is a huge disparity between the top and the bottom of D-III and within the Capital Conference. Brian Menendez scooped up one ground ball for the Gulls.
OTHER GAMES
Marymount (Asst. Coach Wes Lincoln) 9
Frostburg State 11
The Saints have just two wins on the year, but, as with this game, they have been close and competitive in many of those contests.
Ohio Wesleyan (Tyler McTague) 11
Kenyon 9
The Battling Bishops continue to post in-conference wins after suffering through early season losses to some of the top teams in D-III. Now 2-0 in North Coast play, OWU has one out-of-conference game left and the big tilt left on their schedule is an Easter Sunday match against Denison.
Salisbury (Brian Menendez) 27
Southern Virginia 7
The Gulls overwhelm another Capital Conference foe.
Salisbury (Brian Menendez) 15
Roanoke 10
Salisbury easily handled a top 20 opponent with the score made to look close by Roanoke scoring 5 of the game’s final 6 goals.
Trinity (Spud Dunn) 9
Tufts 22
Eleven straight goals by Tufts, consuming all of the second quarter and continuing through the first half of the third quarter, determined the outcome in this NESCAC battle.
D-III POLL
Salisbury is the unanimous #1 in the USILA D-III poll this week, with Ohio Wesleyan getting some votes, but not enough to crack the top 20.
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