BEARS LAX TRAX 022622 by John Nichols

goldenstateservicesj
Mar 3, 2022
7 min read

BEARS LAX TRAX 022622

D-I

Congratulations to Ryan Giles of Denver who picked up his first collegiate goal.

BEARS vs BEARS

PENN STATE (Nate Buller) 10

YALE (Jake Cohen) 6

This Bears versus Bears match was a rematch of the semi-finals of the 2019 NCAA tournament. Penn State was the #1 seed that year and Yale was the #5 seed. Things are very different this year. Penn State is trying to recover from a disappointing 2021 season while Yale is trying to recover from not playing last year. In that 2019 game, both teams featured high powered offenses with the teams combining for 38 goals in that semi-final with Yale getting the upset win.

This year, Yale was favored in this rematch while Penn State, having lost three of their first four games, was facing early season struggles. After Yale scored the first two goals of the game Penn State reeled off five straight scores to close out the first period. Penn State’s lead disappeared as the Bulldogs pitched a 3-0 shutout in the second quarter. Penn State matched that in the third quarter, reestablishing a three-goal advantage heading into the final period. After a scoreless first ten minutes of the fourth, Yale broke through to pull within two. Penn State scored twice more and held Yale scoreless over the balance of regulation to pick up the win.

OTHER GAMES

BUCKNELL (Drew Wellington) 15

Marist 7

Bucknell moved to 4-0 on the season with a dominating win over Marist. This game would have been a blowout of epic proportions but for the 22 saves by the Marist goalie.

Drew had one ground ball and was back in the starting lineup after having missed the St. John’s game last week.

DARTMOUTH (Brendan Gallagher, Brett Gallagher) 11

Bryant 9

Dartmouth got their first win of the 2022 season, using a four-goal run over the second and third periods to put enough distance between themselves and the Bulldogs.

DENVER (Ryan Giles) 9

Jacksonville 11

Jacksonville demonstrated the critical nature of ground balls wins. The Dolphins had a nearly two to one advantage on ground balls and were able to translate that possession advantage into a nearly 50% advantage in shots on goal. After the Pioneers got their first lead of the game early in the third quarter, Jacksonville rallied with three straight scores. Denver would score just once more as Jacksonville closed out the game with another run of three.

Ryan saw field time in this game.

DENVER (Ryan Giles) 20

Canisius 9

The Pioneers had only one day to recover from the loss to Jacksonville and recover they did. Denver used a nine-goal run from the closing minutes of the second quarter to late in the third period to ensure the win.

Ryan picked up his first collegiate goal, capitalizing on a blown clear by Canisius.

HARVARD (Joey Graham) 12

Ohio State 17

Harvard used a four-goal run in the second period to take a one goal lead at the half, but the Buckeye’s 7-1 advantage in the third frame determined the outcome of the game.

JOHNS HOPKINS (Joey Epstein) 10

North Carolina 15

The Tar Heels scored four straight goals in a two-minute span in the middle of the second quarter to break away from the Blue Jays. Hopkins stymied that run with a single score before the half, but North Carolina came out of the locker room on fire, putting up another five straight scores to solidify their lead.

Joey scored four goals for the Jays, putting six of his seven shots on goal and he helped sustain possessions with three ground balls.

LOYOLA (Cam James) 12

Rutgers 13

Loyola’s tough early season schedule has the Greyhounds off to an 0-3 start. Each of their last two losses have been single goal losses to ranked opponents. The Greyhounds used a quick three goal run in the middle of the third period to take an 8-5 lead. But Rutgers answered back with a decisive run for five straight scores just over five minutes to go up by two. Loyola scored with four minutes left in the contest and got a shot off after the ensuing faceoff, but could not muster a threat over the balance of regulation.

Cam saw field time in the game.

MARYLAND (John Geppert, Matt Kopp) 15

Princeton 10

The Terrapins scored twice in the first minute of the game then never trailed across the 59 minutes of play. Maryland had twice as many shots and shots on goals as Princeton but the Princeton goalie kept the game close with a better than two-to-one advantage in saves.

John had four ground balls, a pair of caused turnovers, and two shots on the day.

MICHIGAN (Zach Johnson, Graham Hertzberg) 23

Canisius 10

Michigan’s high-powered offense used second half runs of six, and then five consecutive scores to blow open this non-conference game. Zach had one ground ball and one caused turnover for Big Blue.

MICHIGAN (Zach Johnson, Graham Hertzberg) 13

Cleveland State 5

Cleveland State was the first team to hold Michigan under twenty goals this season. The Wolverines’ skein of nine straight goals from the end of the first quarter through the end of the third cemented the win for Michigan.

Zach had two ground balls and a caused turnover plus a faceoff win in his first try this season

NAVY (JT Thomas) 13

High Point 14

Navy took an early two goal lead but High Point stayed close on their heels until Panthers used a three-goal run late in the third period to take their first lead of the day. Navy the tied the game up again, but High Point scored to take the lead back. After one more goal-for-goal exchange, High Point managed to hold Navy scoreless over the last

four minutes of the game.

PENN (Stephen Bou) 14 OT

Duke 13

Penn forced overtime by scoring the tying goal with just two seconds left in the game. The Quakers had a bonus in overtime, starting the extra period up a man, but Duke won the faceoff to start the overtime period to run out the penalty. Duke had the better of it throughout overtime, but Penn went to work after a Duke shot clock violation and got the game winner on their first shot in overtime.

TOWSON (Mo Sillah) 15 3OT

Richmond 16

Yet another game with a tie in the closing seconds of regulation but this time the team that forced overtime ended up losing. Towson dominated play early and benefited from three goals during a two-minute full time penalty on Richmond, taking a 9-1 into the break between the first and second quarters. Richmond bounced back with a 7-1 second quarter, cutting the Towson lead to two at the half. Richmond got their first lead of the game off of a three-goal run in the early moments of the fourth quarter. Towson tied the game up again, only to see Richmond go ahead again less than a minute later. In the closing seconds of the game both teams committed turnovers and Towson managed to get the ball back with just seconds left on the clock, then score with just one second to go.

In the first overtime period, both teams had scoring opportunities and in the second overtime period Towson had a man-up advantage for a minute but none of their three shots during that time found the back of the cage. Towson had the early advantage in the third overtime period and each team had good scoring opportunities, but it was the Spiders who finally finished the game.

D-I USILA POLL

1. Maryland

2. Virginia

3. Georgetown

4. Rutgers

5. Ohio State

6. Penn

7. Notre Dame

8. North Carolina

9. Cornell

10. Duke

11. Jacksonville

12. Yale

13. Army

14. Johns Hopkins

15. Syracuse

16. Michigan

17. Delaware

18. Princeton

19. Richmond

20. Denver

THIS COMING WEEK

Loyola (Cam James) and Towson (Mo Sillah) meet in the final game of the Charm City round robin while Penn (Stephen Bou) and Penn State (Nate Buller) meet in Charlotte.

D-III

BEARS vs BEARS

SALISBURY (Jace Menendez) 11

GETTYSBURG (Billy Banfield) 6

The Gulls held the Bullets scoreless for the first 40 minutes of the game, limiting Gettysburg to just ten shots until that first score. That long delayed first goal was followed up by three more for Gettysburg. The teams traded scores down the stretch as Salisbury held on for their second win of the season.

OTHER GAMES

COLORADO COLLEGE (Max Becker) 6

Stevenson 15

Colorado College had trouble holding on to the ball, committing 29 turnovers and failing on half of their clearing opportunities. The Tigers were saved from a complete blowout by the strong play of their starting goalie who had nineteen saves on the day.

COLORADO COLLEGE (Max Becker) 14

Catholic 19

Down by seven early in the third quarter, the Tigers rallied to pull within two by scoring five goals in a bit over six minutes. Unfortunately, Colorado College was unable to pull any closer as the Cardinals scored five of the game’s next six goals.

GETTYSBURG (Billy Banfield) 21

Goucher 3

The Bullets owned the middle of the game, scoring sixteen straight goals from the midpoint of the first period until there were five minutes left in the third period. Goucher’s last goal of the game broke that run, but Gettysburg closed the game out with a run of four goals.

WASHINGTON & LEE (Will Bou) 17

Washington College 7

Washington and Lee picked up their first win of the season on the strength of two six-goals runs, those runs separated by a single score for Shoreman. Will won three of four faceoffs for the Generals and got one ground ball.

D-III USILA POLL

1. RIT

2. Salisbury

3. Tufts

4. Christopher Newport

5. York

6. Lynchburg

7. Saint John Fisher

8. Franklin & Marshall

9. Williams

10. Cabrini

11. Saint Lawrence