BearLaxTraxFax by John Nichols

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D-I

BvB

Maryland (Justin Shockey) 10

Navy (Tom Evans) 4

Navy and Maryland met for the 93^rd time on Saturday.  The teams first faced off in 1924 and Maryland now holds a 59-33 advantage (including 4 NCAA tournament wins) with one tie in the series.  The Terrapins scored five unanswered goals from midway through the second quarter until five minutes were left in the third.  That run and the Terps’ solid play in goal proved to be the difference in the contest.  Justin Shockey got his first taste of NCAA D I play, taking, but losing, three faceoffs.  Faceoffs were the one area of the game that the Middies dominated.

Michigan (Will Amoroso) 15

Cleveland State (Justin Conner) 5

Michigan rode a hot goalie to victory in their season opener.  While the teams’ stat lines are otherwise pretty similar, the difference in saves tells the story of the game.

Other Games

Army (Drennan Green) 18

UMass 6

Army comes into the 2018 season facing high expectations and they did not disappoint in their first contest.  The Black Knights’ two runs of goals—7 straight in the middle of the game, 5 straight at the end—were the keys to the game.

Bucknell (Sean O’Brien, Jarett Witzal, Colin O’Brien) 14

Bryant 12

The Bison picked up their second win of the season in a game of back-and-forth runs.  Fortunately for Bucknell, their runs were a bit more frequent and more productive.  Sean scored three goals for Bucknell, and put eight of his thirteen shots (keep shooting!) on goal.  Jarett was 11 for 29 on faceoffs, collected five ground balls and took one shot.

Colgate (Griffin Brown) 18

Marist 12

Griffin Brown got his first two goals of the season as the Red Raiders opened their 2018 campaign with a win.  Colgate won despite drawing nine flags in the game, with four of those being for delay of game penalties against the same player!

Hobart (Riley McTague, Koko Avedisian) 8

Penn State 15

Hobart had a 7-6 advantage at the half, but the second half of the game belong to the Nittany Lions.  Penn State scored eight straight goals across the third and fourth quarters, keeping the Statesmen off the board until just over two minutes remained in the game.  Riley took one shot for Hobart.

Jacksonville (Andrew Mitchell, Hunter Sells) 8

Duke 19

Duke, the virtual consensus #1 team to start the season had little trouble downing the Dolphins.  The homestanding Blue Devils raced to a 5-0 lead in the first quarter and never looked back.  Duke offset the Dolphin’s advantage at the faceoff X by forcing turnovers and winning ground ball battles.  Hunter played most of the second half in goal for Jacksonville, allowing seven goals on eleven shots.  He also gathered up four ground balls.

Johns Hopkins (Sam Lynch) 14

Towson 6

The Blue Jays were up 5-0 after one period, and 11-2 at the half, making quick work of the Tigers.

Virginia (Ryan Pride) 13 2OT

Loyola 12

Down 8-3 early in the second half, UVA flipped the game on the visiting Greyhounds.  The ‘Hoos put together a 5-0 run in the third quarter to tie the game, then built a 12-9 lead in the fourth, only to see Loyola put up three straight to force overtime.  Defense outdid offense in a scoreless first overtime, but UVA won the faceoff in the second overtime and quickly converted the winning goal.

Polls

(USILA Poll not available)

This Coming Week

There is one Bears vs. Bears contest this week as Cornell (Colton Rupp, Jack Bolen, Andrew Fowler) faces Colgate (Griffin Brown). In addition to this being Cornell’s first game of the 2018 season, this weekend also marks the start of the season for Dartmouth (Landon McKenzie) and Saint Josephs (Thomas Halm).

D-III

The D-III season rolls out more slowly than D-I.  Teams in southern and mid-Atlantic states have begun play, while many schools in New England are not schedule to start until March.

Salisbury (Brian Menendez) 13

Lynchburg 9

Salisbury picked up their second win of the season, downing the always tough Lynchburg Hornets.  The Seagulls had a distinct advantage in shots in an otherwise even match.

Catholic (Asst. Coach Tom Minkler, Sean Feldman) 13

Sewanee 9

Driven by a 5-1 scoring advantage in the third quarter, Catholic got a season opening win over the Tigers in Charlottesville.

This Coming Week

Marymount (Asst. Coach Wes Lincoln), Ohio Wesleyan (Tyler McTague) and Washington College (Will Oliver) start their seasons this week.  We had missed Will and Washington in our preseason look, but with the addition of the Shoremen, the annual War at the Shore Game (Salisbury vs. Washington) becomes