Bear Lax Trax Fax (3/04-12) and Bear Bites

BLTF and Bear Bits

BLTF 03/04-12BLTF 03/04-12

By JOHN NICHOLS

D-I

Bears vs. Bears Recap

This week’s Bears vs. Bears games saw Bucknell (Sam McDonough) beat Navy (Matt Morrison) 14-9 and Maryland (Kellen Miller) beat Duke (Josh Offit)10-7. 

Kellen in an earlier game.

The Bison beat Middies in the first Patriot league action for each.  Sam McDonough was credited with 2 caused turnovers in the game. 

Sam post USNA win

Maryland beat Duke in the ACC season opener for both teams.  Josh got off 4 shots, 2 on goal, and scooped up 2 ground balls.

Other Games

Cornell (Joe Paoletta and Will Joyce) got their 2012 season underway after suffering the snow-out last weekend.  The Red dispatched Binghamton 17-12 on Tuesday then ran away from Army 18-7 on Saturday.

Princeton (Jack Strabo, Mike Grossman, Brian Reilly, and Justin Murphy) also had a pair of games last week.  Tuesday they took Manhattan 13-7 then hosted Johns Hopkins, a game won by the Blue Jays 10-8 despite a furious late rally by the Tigers.  Mike Grossman had 1 goal, 1 assist 2 shots, 1 shot on goal and 1 ground ball against Manhattan. A nice line, but one that Jack Strabobettered with 1 goal, 1 assist, 2 shots, 2 shots on goal and 2 ground balls!  Mike kept things going by scoring 1 goal, 2 assists on 3 shots against the Blue Jays while Jack contributed to the Tigers’ defensive effort with one ground ball and one caused turnover.

Denver (Harrison Archer) beat Hartford 11-10 as Harrison scored 1 goal and gathered up 1 ground ball.

Lehigh (a non-ursine institution) played a big time spoiler posting victories over Penn (Will Laco) and UNC (Will Leighton-Armah). 

On Saturday, Hobart (David Chakola) picked up where Cornell left of, beating Binghamton 15-10.

Georgetown (CT Fisher) notched a posted their first victory of the season with a 12-7 decision over Detroit.

Ohio State (Luke Howard) lost to Penn State 5-2 in a defensive struggle.

Ryan Curtis’Vermont Catamounts lost to Bryant 15-8.

LaxPower Forum Poll 3/5/12

2.  Maryland

3.  Cornell

9.  Duke

11.  North Carolina

12.  Princeton

14.  Denver

18.  Ohio State

This Coming Week:

The season is in full swing and there are lots of games this week—here are some of the highlights:

Bear vs. Bears

North Carolina (Will Leighton-Armah) takes on Penn (Will Laco) Tuesday and Bucknell (Sam McDonough) takes on Hobart (David Chakola) on Saturday.  Also on Saturday, Princeton (Mike Grossman, Jack Strabo, Brian Reilly, and Justin Murphy)  with battle North Carolina (Will Leighton-Armah) in one of three games to be played at M&T Bank Stadium in the Konica-Minolta Face-off Classic.

Cornell (Joe Paoletta and Will Joyce) will also be at M&T Bank Stadium on Saturday, facing the #1 ranked UVA Cavaliers.

Denver (Harrison Archer) battles Penn State (bear free zone) in a rematch of ex-Ivy league coaches.

D-III

Sewanee (Drew Hayhurst) beat Ferrum 10-8 on the 29^th, but dropped a 10-6 decision to Kenyon Sunday.  Drew continues to start for the Tigers.  I would catch you on Drew’s stat line, but the Sewanee stats are indecipherable.

Ohio Wesleyan (Tommy Minkler) ran to a 21-4 win over Washington & Jefferson.  Tommy dished out 5 assists to his fellow Battling Bishops.  Two games into the 2012 season, Tommy is tied for second in total points on his team.  THAT’S A BEAR!

Dickinson (Marek Laco) dropped a 12-9 decision to St. Mary’s then bounced back to beat Montclair State 15-8.

Gettysburg (Wes Lincoln and Austin Dodson) posted a 8-5 win over Goucher on Tuesday but dropped a 11-6 decision to D-III powerhouse and defending NCAA D-III champs Salisbury.

Washington & Lee (Will Raul) dropped an 11-10 heartbreaker to Washington College.

LaxPower D-III Forum Poll 3/5/12

4.  Tufts

11.  Dickinson

13.  Gettysburg

This coming week:

Tufts (Nick Rhoads and Mark Findaro), the NCAA D-III champion for 2010 and runner up in 2011, starts their season off this week as the Jumbos face Hamilton on Saturday.

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BEAR BITS

LAX

The lacrosse team has played two powerhouse teams in scrimmages. THESE EVENTS ARE NO MEASURE OF FUTURE TEAM PERFORMANCE, BUT a couple of observations are merited:

• The Bears are deep with as many as four midfields with speed, stick work, ability to move the ball and shoot.

• The attack has at least 6 talented, swift players

• The D is solid from the goal (two VERY talented goalies) out and plays smart positional defense

The team will play a demanding schedule with the following top ESPNHS.Com teams (italics = scrimmage team)

Pennsylvania

1. 1.   Haverford School (Haverford, Pa.)

ALSO THEIR PICK FOR A SECOND CONSECUTIVE NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP

Maryland: 1. Calvert Hall (Baltimore, Md.) 2. Landon (Bethesda, Md.) 3. Rockville Prep (North Bethesda, Md.) 4. Gilman (Baltimore, Md.) 5. Loyola-Blakefield (Towson, Md.) 6. St. Paul’s (Brooklandville, Md.) 7. Bullis (Potomac, Md.) 8. McDonogh (Owings Mills, Md.) 9. Boys’ Latin (Baltimore, Md.) 10. St. Mary’s (Annapolis, Md.)

District of Columbia1. Gonzaga (Washington, D.C.)

Virginia1. St. Stephen’s & St. Agnes (Alexandria, Va.) 2. Episcopal School (Alexandria, Va.)

There is no ranking for Canada

Top ESPNHS.com 100 players of the Class of 2012– (not a favorite source of comparative assessment, but it is frequently cited):

23	Brent Armstrong	St. Stephen’s & St. Agnes (Alexandria, Va.)	F/O	North Carolina
25	Connor Reed	Gonzaga (Washington, D.C.)	M	Johns Hopkins
29	Jake Matthai	Gilman (Baltimore, Md.)	M	North Carolina
30	Warner Bailey	Haverford School (Haverford, Pa.)	D	Georgetown
33	Gordie Koerber	Gilman (Baltimore, Md.)	A	Denver
46	Charlie Schnider	Landon (Bethesda, Md.)	M	Maryland
47	Sam Rohr	Haverford School (Haverford, Pa.)	M	Pennsylvania
56	Liam Giblin	Georgetown Prep (North Bethesda, Md.)	A	Johns Hopkins
57	Kylor Bellistri	Bullis (Potomac, Md.)	A	Brown
66	Kacy Kapinos	Loyola-Blakefield (Towson, Md.)	F/O	Ohio State
88	Alex Joyce	Landon (Bethesda, Md.)	G	Georgetown
90	Matt Dunn	Loyola-Blakefield (Towson, Md.)	D	Maryland

HOCKEY

MAPHL issued its all tournament team-

AA Division
2012 MAPHL All Tournament Team
Goalie	Landon School	Sam Kroll
Defense	St. Albans	Sean Heaslip
Defense	Landon School	Connor Meike
Forward	Landon School	Max Greenwald
Forward	DeMatha	Garrett Hasken
Forward	Landon School	Matt Potolicchio

HOOPS

While we await the WaPo All Met team, an unexpected honor came for  Assistant Head Coach (as well as Assistant Headmaster, Paul L. Banfield Chair in Ethics, History Teacher) John Botti. He attained the lofty position as a Jeopardy! Finalist. [see http://www.bethesdamagazine.com/Blogs/Education-Matters/March-April-2012/Landon-School-teacher-tests-knowledge-on-Jeopardy/ ].  He did not reach the highest glory because he provided the wrong question to the following answer (remember the odd construct of the Jeopardy competition- given answer, must provide answer):

Answer: The state with the third smallest area and home to one of the nation’s three oldest colleges.

John answered New Hampshire instead of the show’s preferred answer of the Nutmeg State.  Frequent readers of BSN will acknowledge that the Central Connecticut Community College in New Haven is not highly regarded here; so John’s answer of New Hampshire is applauded!!!