BearLaxTraxFax

03/25/2024

By John Nichols P’09

BLTF 032524

D-I

BEARS VS BEARS

#12 PENN (Stephen Bou) 11

DARTMOUTH (Will Cohen, Cameron Brown, Zak Oehlerking) 8

Cam firing away in the Hanover white out.

In a steady snow, Dartmouth took the lead with a four-goal run in the middle of the first half. The last three of those were scored in just forty-one seconds and were the result of Big Green taking full advantage of non-releasable penalty.  Penn bounced back with three scores to take the lead back, then Dartmouth was able to knot the game up at six all at the halftime break.  The grounds crew did an admirable job of clearing the field during halftime, unfortunately the lines were completely obscured just five minutes into the second half.  Penn dominated the third quarter 4-0 and extended their lead to five with the first goal of the fourth quarter.  Dartmouth scored the final two goals of the game.

Cam scored one goal, the first of a three-goal run for Dartmouth during that man-up run in the first half. He also put one other shot on goal and found a ground ball in the snow.  Will had two ground balls and two caused turnovers and Zak got some playing time.

OTHER GAMES

DARTMOUTH (Will Cohen, Cameron Brown, Zak Oehlerking) 9

#10 Georgetown 21

The Hoyas took an early five-goal lead and thereafter controlled by game by not allowing back-to-back goals to Dartmouth throughout the game.  Georgetown extended that early lead with sets of two or three goals in a row before blowing the game wide open with a six-goa run in the fourth quarter. 

Zak saw his first action of the season against Georgetown.  Will got to three ground balls and caused one Hoya turnover while Cameron covered one ground ball.

#5 DENVER (Ryan Giles) 7

#3 Duke 11

The Blue Devils scored the first four goals of the game then successfully held off a series of comeback attempts by the Pioneers.  On three occasions, Denver pulled within one of Duke on three occasions, but each time Duke countered.  After the Pioneers pulled within one in the middle of the fourth quarter, Duke mad sure it was the last such threat with a three-goal run.

Ryan covered two ground balls for Denver.

#14 HARVARD (Joey Graham) 11

#15 Princeton 14

No snow, but pretty miserable constant cold rain in this game.  Harvard and Princeton traded leads in the first half then the Tigers closed out the half with a three-goal run to lead 7-4 at the break.  The Crimson ran off three straight to start the second half to tie the game then Princeton countered with two to regain the lead.  Two from Harvard tied the game up at nine.  Princeton’s response was another three-goal run, but Harvard could only muster two in response before Princeton closed out the game with a pair of scores.

Hobart (Jackson Galiani) 7

#6 Syracuse 13

The first half of this match between upstate New York rivals was fairly even with Syracuse taking a one-goal lead at the break after netting one with twenty seconds left in the half.  The game shifted in the Orange’s favor in the second half as Syracuse scored four times in the first eight minutes of the third quarter.  Hobart trimmed the Syracuse lead to three with a pair of goals to finish the third quarter, but only Syracuse scored in the fourth.

#20 MICHIGAN (Hunter Taylor, Graham Hertzberg) 12

#8 Maryland 11

Coming into the 2023 season, Michigan had lost all eleven of their games against Maryland.  A pair of 2023 wins for the Wolverines were key to their strong finish to that year, including their first NCAA tournament appearance and win.

The Wolverines picked up their third straight against the Terrapins, but they had to come from behind late in the game to get the win.  Michigan had a slim two-goal lead early in the second quarter when Maryland went on a scoring run, cashing in for four goals to go up by two.  Michigan scored twice to tie the game again, but Maryland squeezed in one more before halftime to take the lead again.  After a bit of a slow start to the second half, the teams each scored once before the Wolverines got the lead back with three consecutive goals and led by two early in the fourth quarter.  Maryland used three straight scores to retake the lead.  Michigan stopped the run and tied the game up at ten midway through the fourth quarter, only to see the Terrapins net one to get the lead back two minutes later.  Michigan tied the game up a minute later then got the winning goal a minute after that.

Hunter had one ground ball and made nine saves in the game.

NAVY (JT Thomas III, Preston Lugar) 7

Villanova 14

Villanova pulled away from Navy with the last five goals of the first half and the first two of the second half.  Navy had no answer for that. 

NAVY (JT Thomas III, Preston Lugar) 17

Holy Cross 7

Navy scored twice to start the game, then Holy Cross took the lead with three straight scores.  Navy took the lead back with three of their own.  Holy Cross stopped that run with a goal in the later stages of the second quarter.  The Midshipmen then went on a tear, scoring six straight goals across the end of the first half and start of the second.  Holy Cross interrupted that run with a single goal, then Navy racked up five more.

JT saw his first playing time for this season.

OHIO STATE (Cullen Brown) 9

#7 Penn State 12

The Buckeyes dominated early on with five straight goals in the middle of the first half.  Penn State rallied back with three straight second quarter goals.  The Buckeyes squelched that run with the last score of the first half and led by three at the break. 

Penn State shut out the Buckeyes in the third quarter and had the game tied at seven at the quarter break.  The Nittany Lions kicked off the scoring for the fourth quarter and had the lead back.  Ohio State tied the game up again midway through the        final period, but only Penn State scored after that.

Cullen had one caused turnover and one ground ball.

#12 PENN (Stephen Bou) 7

Saint Joseph’s 12

Saint Joe’s four-goal run in the first quarter gave the Hawks the lead for good.  For much of the rest of the game, Penn was limited to one goal at a time.  The Quakers managed to string together three straight scores in the middle of the second half and that run cut Saint Joe’s lead in half, but the Hawks closed out the game with two late goal to get the win.

#9 YALE (Jake Cohen) 15

#11 Cornell 18

Over the first three quarters the teams traded single goal or short runs of two or three resulting in a slim one-goal lead for Cornell heading into the fourth quarter.  Big Red strung together their best streak of the game, netting five goals in the first half of the final quarter.  Yale came with three straight to cut Cornell’s lead in half, but they got no closer as each team scored once more before the final horn.

D-I USILA POLL (3/25)

1. Notre Dame

2. Virginia

3. Syracuse

4. Penn State

5. Duke

6. Army

7. Cornell

8. Georgetown

9. Denver

10. Yale

11. Johns Hopkins

12. Maryland

13. Princeton

14. Penn

15. Michigan

16. Harvard

17. Colgate

18. Boston U.

19. Rutgers

20. Richmond

D-III

#12 AMHERST (Nicholas Kopp, Oscar Smink) 9

#10 Gettysburg 8

After Gettysburg scored the first goal of the day, Amherst scored eight straight goals.  Unfortunately for the Mammoths, the fifth goal of that run was an own goal.  The Bullets closed out the first half with three straight goals and then scored again to start the second half.  That goal pulled Gettysburg within one, the only goal scored by either team in the third quarter.  Amherst rebuilt their lead with a pair fourth quarter goals.  Gettysburg came back with two of their own to trail by one again.  Amherst won the faceoff after that last Gettysburg goal and managed to keep the Bullets at bay.

Nicholas won thirteen of twenty-one faceoffs and collected eight ground balls.  Amherst scored quickly off of two of his faceoff wins with Nicholas earning credit for a goal and an assist.

#9 BOWDOIN (Nico Schermer) 22

MIT 13

Bowdoin and MIT traded pairs of goals to start the game, then the Polar Bears took control.  Bowdoin’s offense netted four straight goals before MIT scored again.  Until well into the fourth quarter, Bowdoin scored in bunches, large and small, while limiting MIT to one goal at a time.  Bowdoin last big run was a set of nine in a row in the middle of the second half.  MIT halted that run then had their best output of the day, scoring three straight late in the fourth quarter.  Bowdoin halted that run then MIT closed out the day with a pair of goals.

COLBY (Colin Flood) 22

Saint Josephs’s of Maine 10

The Mules took control of the game right away scoring six first-quarter goals before Saint Joseph’s got their first.  Colby came right back with four more and led 10-1.  St. Joe’s netted a pair of goals, but Colby responded with three more.  Coby led by ten at the half and continued to control the game in the second half.

COLBY (Colin Flood) 10

Hamilton 13

Hamilton enjoyed short scoring runs for most of the game while limiting the Mules to one at a time.  Colby was able to string together three goals in the fourth quarter to halve Hamilton’s lead.  They got no closer as each team scored once more before time ran out.

DENISON (Will Savoy) 9

John Carroll 4

Goalies ruled in this contest, with Denison’s net minder saving 75% of John Carroll’s shots on goal and Carroll’s goalie getting to 63% of Denison’s shots on goal.  Denison got the lead with an early three-goal run and finished off John Carroll with a three-goal run to end the match.

DENISON (Will Savoy) 20

Kenyon 10

Denison dominated the middle quarters to pick up the win in their North Coast season opener.  The game was marred by fifteen penalties which yielded eight man-up goals and one man-down score.

#7 DICKINSON (Will Single, Andrew Atkins) 11

Muhlenberg 6

Dickinson slowly and steadily pulled away, scoring twice for each Muhlenberg goal.  That pattern flipped once in Muhlenberg’s favor, but the Red Devils bounced back with the last two goals of the game.

Will caused one turnover for Dickinson.

HAMPDEN-SYDNEY (Owen Hegadorn) 19

Randolph 1

The Tigers scored seventeen goals across the first three quarters before Randolph got their lone goal to start the final period. 

Owen played in the game and saved both of the shots that Randolph put on goal during his tenure in the cage.

HAMPDEN-SYDNEY (Owen Hegadorn) 11

Randolph-Macon 7

Randolph-Macon took a one goal lead into the locker room at halftime, thanks to their three-goal run that closed out the half.  That was the end of the good times for them as Hampden-Sydney shut them out in the second half while netting four goals to win the game.

OHIO WESLEYAN (Quinn Coughlin) 16

Wittenberg 4

From late in the first quarter until early in the fourth quarter the Bishops scored fourteen goals with just one Wittenberg score squeezed in the middle. 

Quinn took one shot in the game.

#11 WASHINGTON & LEE (Will Bou, Will Abramson) 22

Elmhurst 10

After a rough weekend in Owings Mill, the Generals got back to their winning ways.  The Generals opened the game with an extended scoring run, netting ten goals before Elmhurst got the first of the game.  Elmhurst scored twice more to finish the first half.  W&L lead off the scoring in the second half then Elmhurst came back with another three-goal run.  Washington and Lee wiped out the effect of Elmhurst’s two three-goal runs by reeling of six in a row with that run lasting until there were four minutes left in the game.

Will Bou won seven of twelve faceoffs, taking one of his wins straight to the goal for his first goal of the season.  Will Abramson also played in the game.

#11 WASHINGTON & LEE (Will Bou, Will Abramson) 24

Guilford 6

The Generals allowed Guilford just one goal at a time and, after extending their lead incrementally through the first three quarters, Washington and Lee ran off twelve unanswered scores to wrap up the game.  The Generals took twice as many shots, scooped up twice as many ground balls and won twice as many faceoffs which enable their domination of the scoreboard.

Will Bou won six of eleven faceoffs and covered two ground balls.  Will Abramson played in the game.

D-III USILA POLL (3/25)

1. Salisbury

2. RPI

3. Tufts

4. RIT

5. Saint Lawrence

6. Christopher Newport

7. Dickinson

8. Union

9. Bowdoin

10. Amherst

11. Gettysburg

12. Washington & Lee

13. Stevens

14. Wesleyan

15. Swarthmore

16. Lynchburg

17. Babson

18. Endicott

19. Middlebury

20. Williams

THIS COMING WEEK

HAMPDEN-SYDNEY (Owen Hegadorn) plays WASHINGTON & LEE (Will Bou, Will Abramson) in a key ODAC match.