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HIGHLIGHTS

Conference tournaments wrapped up this week, setting the stage for the NCAA tournaments in D-I and D-III.

Congratulations to the Maryland Terrapins who added a sweep of the Big Ten tournament to their undefeated regular season play. It’s been fifteen years since a team made it all the way through Memorial Day Weekend undefeated.

Maryland (Justin Shockey, John Geppert, Matt Kopp, Griffin Brown), Denver (Ryan Giles), Loyola (Cam James), and Virginia (Ryan Pride) are this year’s Bear representatives in the D-I tournament while Salisbury (Jace Menendez), Tufts (Kyle Amitay, Garrett Kurtz) and Colorado College (Max Becker) all got invitations to the D-III showdown. Denver takes on Loyola in the first round in a post-season Bears vs. Bear match.

D-I

TOURNAMENT TIME

BIG TEN

Last week, Michigan advanced by beating Ohio State and Johns Hopkins advanced by downing Penn State. Maryland and Rutgers, ranked #1 and #2 respectively in the Big Ten, had byes.

Semifinals

MARYLAND (Justin Shockey, John Geppert, Matt Kopp, Griffin Brown) 16

MICHIGAN (Zach Johnson) 8

Michigan got the first goal of the game then Maryland got the first big run. Down 2-0 in the middle of the first period, the Terrapins scored six consecutive goals. After a series of traded goals, Maryland put together another run—this time five in a row—to put the game out of reach.

Justin took the lion’s share of the faceoffs for Maryland, winning 14 of 22 while gathering in ten ground balls. Griffin had a pair of goals on four shots. John had one ground ball and Matt saw playing time.

Maryland advances to the Big Ten Final for a third game with Johns Hopkins.

JOHNS HOPKINS (Joey Epstein) 12

Rutgers 10

Johns Hopkins recorded their second upset win of the tournament, downing #2 seeded Rutgers. After the Jays scored the first two goals of the game, Rutgers took back the lead with a string of three straight scores. After that, Rutgers scored single goals while scores came in clutches of two or three for the Jays. While that scoring advantage put the Jays up by four heading into the final period, that margin was far from comfortable. Rutgers made things uncomfortable for Hopkins by scoring the first three goals of the final period to pull within one, 10-9. The Jays answered with a pair of goals which proved to be sufficient to ensure the win.

Joey took three shots on the day and got one ground ball.

After a dismal 2-8 regular season, the Jays found a way to advance to the Big Ten championship game to face the long-time rival, Maryland.

Championship—Bears vs. Bears

MARYLAND (Justin Shockey, John Geppert, Matt Kopp, Griffin Brown) 12

JOHNS HOPKINS (Joey Epstein) 10

Two weeks ago, these two teams faced off in their regular season finale. In that game, Maryland needed a furious comeback in the final two minutes of the game to get the win. In this Big Ten championship game, the Terrapins again needed to come from behind, but this time in a more surgical, drawn out way than the prior game’s fury.

The game started with an offensive onslaught from both teams with half of the game’s goals scored in the first quarter. When Joey got his second goal of the game less than a minute into the second quarter, it looked like the pace of scoring would not let up, however each team scored only one goal more until the halftime break.

Hopkins was ready to run again in the second half, scoring taking a 9-6 lead with less than a minute gone in the third period. Then Maryland clamped down. The Terrapins held Johns Hopkins scoreless for the next twenty-seven minutes of the half. Over that time there was no onslaught of scoring for Maryland, but enough to have a two goal lead with less than two minutes remaining. Hopkins scored right off the faceoff after that Maryland goal and the game was back to a one-goal margin as the end of regulation approached. Maryland won the next faceoff and got an insurance goal with twenty seconds left in the game.

Joey had three goals for the Jays, taking seven shots on the day. He also contributed one ground ball and one caused turnover. John took one shot for Maryland and had one ground ball. For his play in the tournament, John was named to the All-Tournament team. Justin won ten of eighteen faceoffs and recovered three ground balls. Griffin got off four shots, two of which were on-goal.

As the Big Ten Tournament Champion, Maryland earned a berth in the NCAA tournament. The loss ended Johns Hopkins’ season.

John‘s performance merited all B1G tournament LSM.

PATRIOT LEAGUE

Quarterfinals

LOYOLA (Cam James) 16

Navy 9

The Greyhounds sprinted out to a 5-0 lead in the first quarter and then held on to advance. Navy sliced into Loyola’s early lead with a three goal run in the second period only to see the Hounds take their lead back out to four with a pair of scores. That was pretty much the way the balance of the game went—Navy would make progress; Loyola would extend their lead back out. As the third quarter transitioned to the fourth, Loyola had a hot streak of four goals in four minutes to go up by eight.

In the other Patriot League quarterfinal, Colgate upset Boston University 11-8. Colgate will play Lehigh in the other league semifinal game.

Semifinals—Bears vs. Bears

Loyola (Cam James) 11

Army (Drennan Greene) 10

Loyola and Army battled for the first three quarters with each team taking the lead only to see their opponent rally back to tie the game or retake the lead. Loyola tied the game up at seven-all in the closing seconds of the third period. That tying goal was the first of a run of four that staked the Greyhounds to a three goal lead at the midway point of the fourth quarter. The teams traded goals after that then a pair of Army goals cut Loyola’s lead back to one. Now it looked like the balance of the game could be a reprise of the first three quarters. Those final four minutes were dominated by turnovers with each team only taking one shot and those shots being saved.

Championship

Loyola (Cam James)

Lehigh

Loyola was unable to play this game due to a positive COVID test. Lehigh was the tournament and regular season champion and earned the Patriot League’s automatic qualifier spot in the NCAA D-I tournament. Loyola received at at-large bid.

NORTHEAST CONFERENCE

Semifinals

St. Joseph’s (Thomas Halm) 19

LIU 11

When these two teams met ten days ago, St. Joe’s used a big run in the middle of the game to take the lead. In that game, Long Island fought back until the final whistle when the Hawks escaped with a one-goal win. In this rematch, the Hawks again put together a fast run of goals in the middle of the game but then did not let the Sharks back in. This run of six goals in less than five minutes broke a 6-6 tie, the St. Joe’s doubling up the LIU. The Hawks kept the Sharks at bay after that, never allowing their lead to shrink below five goals.

Championship

St. Joseph’s (Thomas Halm) 10

Bryant 16

The Hawks had little trouble with Bryant in the regular season, winning 13-5. Early on, Bryant used a four goal run to turn a two goal deficit into a two goal lead then the Hawks put together a run of three scores to close out the half leading 6-5. Midway through the third quarter, on the heels of St. Joe’s going up by two, the Bulldogs launched an offensive barrage, scoring seven times in the next fifteen minutes, a run interrupted by a single score for the Hawks. St. Joe’s would score just once more in the contest.

The loss ended the Hawks season with Bryant getting the North East Conference’s slot in the NCAA tournament.

BIG EAST CONFERENCE

Semifinals

DENVER (Ryan Giles) 14

Providence 5

Denver and Providence met twice in the regular season with Denver winning both games easily. The Pioneers coasted in this third meeting as well. Denver was up 7-0 with three minutes left in the first half before Providence got their first goal. A run of four Denver goals which closed out the third period and covered the first ten minutes of the fourth further ensured that the Pioneers would advance.

Championship

DENVER (Ryan Giles) 9

Georgetown 10

Georgetown and Denver met twice this season, with Denver handing Georgetown its first loss of the season and then Georgetown getting a come-from-behind overtime win in the second. This game was more like the second meeting.

Denver had a pair of three goal runs in the first half and Georgetown scored back-to-back goals twice as the Pioneers took the first half 6-4. Each team scored twice in the third period so Denver maintained its two-goal lead heading into the final period. The Hoya defense kept the Denver offense at bay in the fourth period while the Georgetown offense mounted a comeback. Three straight scores by the Hoyas flipped the scoreboard in their favor midway through the fourth quarter. Denver forced a tie with six minutes left in the contest only to see Georgetown retake the lead with four minutes left in regulation. Denver had opportunities in the closing minutes but missed the cage on two shots and another was blocked.

Georgetown earned the Big East’s automatic berth in the NCAA tournament and Denver was selected for an at-large slot.

D-I NCAA TOURNAMENT, FIRST ROUND

#1 North Carolina vs. Monmouth (Chapel Hill, Saturday)

#2 Duke vs. High Point (Chapel Hill, Sunday)

#3 Maryland vs. Vermont (College Park, Sunday)

#4 Virginia vs. Bryant (Charlottesville, Sunday)

#5 Georgetown vs. Syracuse (College Park, Saturday)

#6 Notre Dame vs. Drexel (Denver, Saturday)

#7 Denver vs. Loyola (Denver, Sunday)

#8 Lehigh vs. Rutgers (Charlottesville, Saturday)

Games to see:

It’s a short drive to see the games in Charlottesville and College Park, but note that although there are two games scheduled at these sites, there are no double headers. For the teams that we track, all games are on Sunday, starting with UVA vs. Bryant at noon. Maryland and Vermont are immediately after that and Denver vs. Loyola, a Bears vs. Bears contest, close out the day.

D-III

CONFERENCE TOURNAMENTS

COAST TO COAST CONFERENCE

Semifinals

SALISBURY (Jace Menendez) 28

St. Mary’s 3

Salisbury opened the game with a string of seven straight scores and closed the game with a run of twenty (yes 20!) in a row.

Jace took one shot for the Gulls.

Championship

SALISBURY (Jace Menendez) 12

Christopher Newport 9

The C2C Championship game took on a decidedly different tone from Salisbury’s semifinal game. The Gulls and the Captains have been the dominant teams in the conference this year and in their prior head-to-head match ups Salisbury coasted to easy wins by double digits margins.

Although the Gulls never trailed in this game (the game was tied once early on) they could not put any meaningful distance between themselves and CNU. Salisbury put together a couple of sets of three straight scores, but the Captains always had the answer to keep things close. Still, Salisbury’s lead grew quarter by quarter until the final period when Christopher Newport mounted a comeback. The Captains’ final score of the day pulled them within two with two and a half minutes remaining the game. Salisbury added an insurance goal as the game clock wound down.

Salisbury won an automatic qualifier slot in the NCAA D-III tournament and Christopher Newport won an at-large bid.

OLD DOMINION ATHLETIC CONFERENCE

Semifinals

WASHINGTON & LEE (Will Bou) 11

Bridgewater 3

From the closing minutes of the first half until the final horn sounded, it was all Washington and Lee. The Generals closed out the game on a six goal run, holding Bridgewater scoreless for 31 minutes.

Will had another good outing, winning five of eight faceoffs and gathering up three ground balls.

Championship

WASHINGTON & LEE (Will Bou) 6

Lynchburg 16

Washington and Lee and Lynchburg split their regular season meetings back in early April. Two seven goal runs by Lynchburg, one in the fist half the other in the second, proved decisive in this ODAC championship game. By the time that second run was complete, Lynchburg was up 16-3. Three scores by the Generals in the closing minutes of the game only served to narrow the margin.

Will won four of eight faceoffs and scooped up two ground balls. His 0.500 performance at the dot was tops for W&L’s fogos.

The loss ended the Generals’ season.

NEW ENGLAND SMALL COLLEGE ATHLETIC CONFERENCE

Championship

TUFTS (Kyle Amitay, Garrett Kurtz) 18

Williams 11

The NESCAC split into two divisions this year with the top team in each division qualifying for the championship game. Williams had the early advantage in this game, jumping out to a 3-0 lead in the first quarter. Tufts responded with a four goal run to take the lead, but Williams closed out the first half with another run of three to go up 6-4 at the half. The third quarter saw Tufts take the lead with a three goal run only to have Williams take the lead right back again with a pair of goals scored twenty-two seconds apart. The Jumbos then recaptured the lead before the third quarter ended and scored the first three goals of the final period to go up by four. Four straight scores by Tufts over a three minute span late in the fourth quarter added to the Jumbo’s margin.

Tufts’ win earned them a slot in the NCAA D-III tournament.

D-III NCAA TOURNAMENT

Colorado College vs. Transylvania (Centre College, Saturday)

Tufts vs. Babson (St. John Fisher, Saturday)

Salisbury vs. SUNY Poly (Cabrini, Saturday)

First and second round games will be played this coming weekend with Saturday’s winners facing off on Sunday.

The way the teams were placed into the tournament bracket, the earliest Bears vs. Bears game would be a semifinal contest.