BEARS LAX TRAX 030522 by John Nichols

BEARS LAX TRAX 030522

Congratulations to Nicholas Kopp of Amherst who took twenty faceoffs in his first NCAA action, winning possession on thirteen.

D-I

BEARS vs BEARS

PENN (Stephen Bou) 10

PENN STATE (Nate Buller) 9

The Quakers scored four goals in a three-minute span that crossed out of the first half and into the second to take their first lead in the game.  Two Penn State scores tied the game after that and then it was a back-and-forth game with each Penn goal answered by one for the Nittany Lions.  After Penn State tied the game at eight all, possession passed back and forth until Penn State turned it over with just 24 seconds left in the game.  Penn found the back of the goal with just one second left on the clock to take the win.

TOWSON (Mo Sillah) 11

LOYOLA (Cam James) 8

This meeting of crosstown rivals was tied up at each interval one through six before a four-goal run by the Tigers gave them a three-goal lead.  Over the balance of regulation, each score by the Greyhounds was answered by one the Tigers. 

Cam was credited with two ground balls for the game.

OTHER GAMES

BUCKNELL (Drew Wellington) 17

Binghamton 11

Two six-goal runs by the Bison, one in each half, were the difference makers in this game.  After the first such run, Binghamton whittled Bucknell’s advantage down to three but the second barrage put Bucknell out of reach.

Drew had one ground ball and one caused turnover for the victors.

DARTMOUTH (Brendan Gallagher, Brett Gallagher) 11

Siena 9

Big Green’s seven-goal run in the first half provided a lead that Dartmouth was able to defend over the balanced of regulation.  Siena scored that last three goals of the game to make the margin appear narrower, two coming in the last minute of regulation.

DENVER (Ryan Giles) 16

North Carolina 17

The Tar Heels and Pioneers swapped leads throughout the first half until North Carolina went on a seven-goal run to go up by six midway through the third period.  Denver worked their way back into the game and were down by two heading into the final period.  In the fourth quarter, Denver was able to flip the scoreboard in their favor by scoring five goals in just two and a half minutes.  That lead would not hold as the Heels scored the final three goals to go up by one going into the final minute of regulation.  Three fouls on the Pioneers in the last minute, including one on their coach, allowed the Heels to run out the clock.

Ryan saw playing time for Denver.

HARVARD (Joey Graham) 16

Fairfield 12

While the first half of this game was a bit of a back-and-forth affair, Harvard set the tone for second half by closing out the first with a three-goal run.  The Stags put together a run of four straight scores to open the second half and pull within one of Harvard.  The Crimson then put together a skein of six straight score to go up by seven half way through the fourth quarter.  Fairfield quickly bounced back with three straight scores but neither team scored in the game’s last five minutes, ensuring that Harvard got their first win of the season.

JOHNS HOPKINS (Joey Epstein) 8

Virginia 19

Virginia raced to a10-1 advantage by the end of the first half, having dominated possession time from a near shutout performance on faceoffs.  The second half was closer to an even match with that half’s highlight being the teams combining for four goals in the final minute of the third quarter (3-1 in favor of UVA). 

Joey took six shots in the game, four of which were on goal, and scooped up two ground balls.

LOYOLA (Cam James) 14

Lafayette 12

Loyola’s early season scheduling of tough opponents (three of first four games against top 20 teams) had left the Greyhounds winless coming into this game.  When both teams struggled to score back-to-back goals, Loyola’s two three-goal runs were critical in an otherwise even match.

Cam played in the Greyhounds’ Patriot League opener.

MARYLAND (John Geppert, Matt Kopp) 11

Notre Dame 9

In a tightly contested game, Notre Dame took its first lead early in the first period taking a 2-1 at the first period break.  The Terrapins twice scored back-to-back goals in the second while allowing just single scores for the Irish.  A late score by Notre Dame left Maryland up by one at the break.  The pace of the game appeared to pick up at the start of the third quarter as Maryland tallied three scores in just over a minute, however; that pace was not sustained. Notre Dame closed out the third period and opened the fourth with a three-goal run of their own, cutting Maryland’s lead to a single goal.  Maryland extended its lead back to two only to see the Irish pull with in one yet again.  The Terrapins got the final score of the contest with five minutes left in regulation and was then was able to hold off Notre Dame down the stretch, allowing just one more shot for the Irish before time expired.

John had three ground balls for Maryland.

MICHIGAN (Zach Johnson, Graham Hertzberg) 12

Marquette 10

In their most closely contest game to date, Michigan remained undefeated.  Marquette opened the game with a three-goal run but the Wolverines were able to string together a run of four in the second period and led by two at the halftime break.  Marquette erased the advantage to open the second half and the teams then traded scores.  Michigan broke the final tie with a string of three straight scores to close out the third period.  In the game’s final period the scoring pace slowed with Marquette getting the lone goal of the quarter.

Zach had two ground ball and a caused turnover for Big Blue.

MICHIGAN (Zach Johnson, Graham Hertzberg) 18

Delaware 8

After a close win over Marquette earlier in the week, Michigan got back in blow out mode on Saturday.  As with the Marquette game, Michigan found themselves down by three early on.  This time, Michigan reeled off nine straight scores across the end of the first period and midway through the second to put the game out of reach.  Delaware did have another run of three, but that was met by eight in a row by the Wolverines.

Zach again had two ground balls and a caused turnover.

NAVY (JT Thomas) 7

Lehigh 11

Navy raced out to a 3-0 in the first quarter, but that was the last time the Middies would score successive goals in this Patriot League opener for both teams.  Lehigh came back with a pair of four-goal runs wrapped around a single goal for Navy.

TOWSON (Mo Sillah) 11

UMBC 10

Both teams went on five goal runs in the first half, UMBC racing out early and Towson rallying late to keep the game close.  The big runs of the first half gave way to a more settled game in the second as UMBC fought to protect their lead while Towson looked for a way to flip the scoreboard in their favor.  That break came late in the fourth quarter when Towson put up back-to-back scores to go up by one.  UMBC had a man-up advantage in the closing seconds of the game, but missed on their lone shot before turning the ball back to Towson.

YALE (Jake Cohen) 13  OT

UMass 12

The Minutemen took the advantage early with a run of four first half scores.  Yale bounced back with a three of their own and ended the first half trailing by one.  The Bulldogs’ first goal of the second half created the game’s fifth tie at 7-7.  After UMass was able to extend their lead out to two goals with successive scores, Yale rallied with a run of three in a row, flipping the scoreboard in their favor.  UMass got the last goal of regulation to tie the game at 12-12. 

Yale dominated possession in the overtime period and got the game winner with 39 seconds left on the game clock as the shot clock was about to expire.

D-I USILA POLL

1. Maryland

2. Virginia

3. Rutgers

4. Cornell

5. Georgetown

6. Penn

7t. North Carolina

7t. Princeton

9. Duke

10. Notre Dame                                                                        

11. Ohio State

12. Army

13. Michigan

14. Yale

15. Jacksonville

16. Brown

17. Boston U.

18. Syracuse

19. Johns Hopkins

20. Utah

THIS COMING WEEK

This week’s Bears versus Bears match feature Harvard (Joey Graham) against Michigan (Zach Johnson, Graham Hertzberg) and Denver (Ryan Giles) facing Yale (Jack Cohen).

D-III

BEARS vs BEARS

TUFTS (Garrett Kurtz) 27

COLBY (Miles Tonkel) 7

The 2022 NESCAC season got underway with our second D-III Bears versus Bears game of the season.  Tufts went on a 15-1 tear, a goal a minute, in the first quarter then added an 8-2 advantage in the second quarter to go up 23-3 at the half.  Things evened out in the second half, each team scoring four goals across the third and fourth quarters.

Both Miles and Garrett played in this season opener.

OTHER GAMES

AMHERST (Nicholas Kopp) 11

Hamilton 9

For the first time BLTF is covering the Mammoths of Amherst.  Nicholas contributed greatly to Amherst’s win in his first NCAA action with a strong performance on the faceoff dot.  Hamilton led early in this season opener for both teams, having scored four goals the first half of the first quarter.  That would be last offensive flurry for Hamilton until the later part of the fourth quarter when they netted three in a row.  In the interim, Amherst used a five-goal run followed up by a three-goal run to take the lead.  By the time Hamilton was able to put up that late scoring streak, the Mammoths were up four—just enough to weather that storm.

Nicholas was the Mammoth’s #1 fogo in the game, taking twenty of the game’s twenty-three faceoffs and winning thirteen.  He also contributed six ground balls and caused one turnover.

SALISBURY (Jace Menendez) 15

Stevens 5

Salisbury throttled a top twenty opponent with overpowering play at both ends of the field.  The shooting barrage that is the Seagulls offense chased the Stevens starting goalie midway through the first period.  Salisbury continued to shoot often as accurately, plaguing the new goalie as well.  The Gulls defense was as effective as the offense, surrendering only two goals across the game’s final three quarters.

SALISBURY (Jace Menendez) 15

Lynchburg 6

Another top twenty team falls to the Gulls, again a fairly even first quarter, then frequent scores by Salisbury, infrequent scores for Lynchburg. 

SALISBURY (Jace Menendez) 22

Randolph-Macon 11

This third game of the week for the Gulls was a blowout from the get go.  Salisbury cruised to an 8-0 lead before Randolph-Macon got their first goal late in the first period.  Salisbury had significant advantages in all statistical categories.

Jace saw playing time for the Gulls

GETTYSBURG (Billy Banfield) 12

Stevenson 9

This was a horse race from the first whistle with the teams combining for twelve first quarter goals (7-5 in favor of Stevenson).  The second quarter was a bit calmer with Gettysburg getting a 5 to 1 advantage on goals to take a two-goal lead at the half.  The pace of scoring slowed even more with the Bullets getting the third period’s lone tally.  Each team scored but once in the final frame.

WASHINGTON & LEE (Will Bou) 7

Denison 11

Denison ran away from the Generals with an eight-goal run that lasted form early in the second quarter though the later moments of the third quarter.  W&L mounted a comeback scoring five unanswered goals in the fourth quarter, but were unable to overtake Denison before the clock wound down to zero.

Will won three of five faceoffs and got an assist on the second score of the Generals’ five goal run.

D-III USILA POLL

1. RIT

2. Salisbury

3. Tufts

4. Christopher Newport

5. St. John Fisher

6. York

7. Lynchburg

8. Franklin & Marshall

9. Williams

10. Gettysburg

11. Dickinson

12. Cabrini

13. Union

14. Wesleyan

15. Saint Lawrence

16. Stevenson

17. Denison

18. Amherst

19. Ursinus

20. Stevens

THIS COMING WEEK

Tufts (Garrett Kurtz) and Amherst (Nicholas Kopp) give us our second NESCAC Bears versus Bears contest.