Bear Lax Trax Fax by John Nichols

BEARS LAX TRAX 021521

D-I

Congratulations to Joey Epstein who was named a captain for the Johns Hopkins Blue Jays for a second consecutive season.

From Johns Hopkins:

Epstein is in his second year as a captain after becoming the first sophomore captain at Johns Hopkins since Kevin Mahon in 1975 when he was selected last season.  In one full season plus five games, Epstein has scored 53 goals and added 30 assists for 83 points with seven extra-man goals and three game-winners to his credit.  He reached the 50-goal mark in just 19 games to become only the sixth player in school history to reach the mark in less than 20 games and set JHU freshman records with 48 goals and 73 points in 2019, when he earned First Team All-Big Ten and Third Team USILA All-America honors while also being tabbed the Big Ten Freshman of the Year in 2019.  Epstein is double-majoring in philosophy and political science.

THIS WEEK’S GAMES

BEARS VS BEARS

VIRGINIA (Ryan Pride) 14

ARMY (Drennan Greene) 9

Army traveled to Virginia after UMass had to cancel their season opener against the Black Knights.  The scene in Charlottesville looked like an early season NESCAC match with snow surrounding one of UVA’s turf fields.  After a fairly even first period, which saw Virginia up 5-4 at the first break, the ‘Hoos tossed a 3-0 shutout in the second which produced what proved to be an insurmountable lead.

Drennan saw time on Army’s EMO squad and recorded two ground balls.

This coming weekend, UVA plays its third straight Bears vs. Bears match as they travel to Baltimore to face Loyola (Cam James).  Army heads to Syracuse for a game in the dome.

TOWSON (Mo Sillah) 8 OT

ST. JOSEPH’S (Thomas Halm) 7

St. Joe’s had a big advantage at the faceoff dot, but their inability to clear the ball offset any benefit from that.  Towson’s first two goals of the second half gave them a four-goal lead which, given the pace of scoring to that point, seemed to too much for St. Joe’s to overcome.  But overcome it they did.  The Hawks outscored the Tigers 5-1 down the home stretch, including the game tying goal with a minute and a half left in regulation.

St. Joe’s won the overtime faceoff, but turned the ball over without getting a shot off.  Towson cleared the ball and secured the win by cashing in on their second shot of the extra period.

Mo tied for game-high with three caused turnovers plus a pair of ground balls.

St. Joe’s has UMBC up next and Towson faces Duke.

OTHER GAMES

DENVER (Ryan Giles) 15

Air Force 6

Denver showed no signs of a hangover after last week’s difficult trip through North Carolina.  The Pioneers launched an eight-goal run which lasted from late in the first quarter through the early minutes of the third, holding Air Force scoreless for nearly half the game.  The teams traded goals over the balance of regulation, but Air Force could not string runs of goals together until the closing minutes of the game.

Denver travels to Marquette this coming weekend

LOYOLA (Cam James) 8 OT                                                 

Richmond 7

In many ways this game was a reprise of the Towson vs. St. Joe’s game—a low scoring affair, tied up late and settled in overtime.  In this case, Loyola trailed for most of the game, and needed a (relatively) furious comeback late in the final period to force overtime.  The Greyhounds rode that momentum into the overtime period winning the faceoff on a violation then scoring the game winner.

Loyola host Virginia this weekend.

CLEVELAND STATE (Justin Connor)

Marquette—COVID 19 issues at Cleveland State led to cancellation

D-I POLLS

Having cancelled their season, Yale is out of all the polls now and the rest of ranked Ivies are hanging on by a thread. 

Schedule Update

THIS COMING WEEK

Many more games on the schedule as the Big 10 kicks of 2021, including a Bears vs. Bears game between Maryland (Justin Shockey, John Geppert, Matt Kopp, and Griffin Brown) and Michigan (Zach Johnson).

Virginia (Ryan Pride) travels to Baltimore to face Loyola (Cam James) in the week’s other Bears vs. Bears match.

D-III

Preseason Poll

D-III Schedule Update

Our 2021 coverage will start with Colorado College’s season opener against CSU Pueblo on February 17. Schedules are still sparse and most of the schools that have posted games are not playing their first games until early March.