For most teams, this was their final regular season game, and spots in their respective conference tournaments were being decided. For others, this was their final game of the year.
At this point, lockers are cleaned out, graduation plans are being put together, and the prep for 2018 has begun. Then you have the ACC (crazy stuff) and Patriot League who both had their conference tournaments. No matter where you fell on that range of games, this was a big weekend!
Scoreboard
Tuesday 4/25
- 7 Navy vs. Holy Cross 11
- 12 Bryant vs. Brown 14
- 10 Boston U. vs. Lehigh 4
Friday 4/28
- 10 Canisius vs. Quinnipiac 6
- 7 Monmouth vs. Manhattan 3
- 13 Loyola vs. Holy Cross 3
- 14 UMass vs. Drexel 8
- 15 Syracuse vs. North Carolina 16
- 11 Fairfield vs. Delaware 7
- 5 Stony Brook vs. Binghamton 6 ot
- 11 Wagner vs. Sacred Heart 13
- 10 Army vs. Boston U. 7
- 6 Duke vs. Notre Dame 7
Saturday 4/29
- 11 Bellarmine vs. Jacksonville 17
- 14 Georgetown vs. St. John’s 4
- 11 High Point vs. Air Force 16
- 5 NJIT vs. UMass Lowell 12
- 12 Rutgers vs. Ohio State 11 ot
- 10 Towson vs. Hofstra 8
- 10 UMBC vs. Vermont 7
- 11 Virginia vs. Penn 17
- 8 VMI vs. Mercer 11
- 13 Richmond vs. Furman 4
- 9 Harvard vs. Yale 8
- 16 Robert Morris vs. Hobart 18
- 18 Cornell vs. Princeton 17
- 11 Mount St. Mary’s vs. Saint Joseph’s 15
- 8 Marquette vs. Denver 16
- 5 Dartmouth vs. Brown 20
- 7 Providence vs. Villanova 15
- 16 Albany vs. Hartford 10
- 13 Cleveland State vs. Detroit Mercy 6
- 6 Marist vs. Siena 5
- 12 Maryland vs. Johns Hopkins 5
Sunday 4/30
- 10 Notre Dame vs. North Carolina 14
- 13 Loyola vs. Army 4
- 13 Michigan vs. Penn State 17
The Stat Freaks
This section will once again be back to highlight some of the best performances from the week. Each category has a specific range we’re looking for. It’s just fun to highlight some of the gaudy performances out there.
Freak of the week: RAMBO!!! Yes, other players scored more. Others had excellent defensive performances that won games, and even more had dominant days at the face-off x.
This week also saw more than normal goalie saves. But when you go to Maryland as the number 2 recruit in the country, there are expectations. Those expectations come to the top when you play Hopkins. Then in your last regular season game, if you drop seven points in a seven point win? That deserves a big pat on the back for Matt Rambo.
Offense: The minimum cutoff is 7 points (goals + assists)
| Pat Spencer – Loyola: 1G, 6A, 7 Shots vs. Holy Cross |
| Jordan Evans – Syracuse: 1G, 6A, 2 Shots vs. North Carolina |
| Max Tuttle – Sacred Heart: 3G, 4A, 7 Shots vs. Wagner |
| Chris Walsch – Air Force: 1G, 6A, 3 Shots vs. High Point |
| Ethan Walker – Denver: 4G, 3A, 5 Shots vs. Marquette |
| Matt Rambo – Maryland: 3G, 4A, 8 Shots vs. Johns Hopkins |
| Eric Applegate – Jacksonville: 3G, 4A, 4 Shots vs. Bellarmine |
| Chris Aslanian – Hobart: 5G, 2A, 6 Shots vs. Robert Morris |
| Christian Cuccinello – Villanova: 3G, 4A, 4 Shots vs. Providence |
| Chris Blewitt – Saint Joseph’s: 2G, 5A, 2 Shots vs. Mt. St. Mary’s |
| Jeff Teat – Cornell: 5G, 7A, 9 Shots vs. Princeton |
| Jake McCulloch – Cornell: 6G, 1A, 9 Shots vs. Princeton |
| Michael Sowers – Princeton: 4G, 3A, 7 Shots vs. Cornell |
| Nick Aponte – Penn St.: 5G, 4A, 10 Shots vs. Michigan |
Defense: For here, you need 8 GBs, CTs, and/or points
| Greg Wozniak – Boston U.: 6GB, 3CT vs. Lehigh |
| Craig Chick – Lehigh: 5GB, 4CT vs. Boston U. |
| Matt Rees – Navy: 6GB, 3CT, 3A vs. Holy Cross |
| Johnny Surdick – Army West Point: 6GB, 3CT, 1A vs. Boston U. |
| Mike McDONOUGH – Massachusetts: 5GB, 3CT, 1G vs. Drexel |
| Jack Carrigan – Loyola: 7GB, 3CT vs. Holy Cross |
| Ryan Macri – North Carolina: 6GB, 3CT vs. Syracuse |
| Jason Weber – Detroit Mercy: 8GB, 1CT vs. Cleveland St. |
| Alec Tulett – Brown: 4GB, 5CT vs. Dartmouth |
| Brendan Hynes – Richmond: 5GB, 3CT vs. Furman |
| Nick Marzullo – NJIT: 7GB, 1CT vs. UMass Lowell |
| Tyler Mayes – Towson: 4GB, 4CT vs. Hofstra |
| Christopher Willman – Hobart: 8GB, CT vs. Robert Morris |
| Warren Jeffrey – Vermont: 5GB, 4CT vs. UMBC |
| Timothy Mangan – Mt. St. Mary’s: 8GB, 2CT, 1A vs. Saint Joseph’s |
| John Sexton – Notre Dame: 4GB, 4CT vs. North Carolina |
Face-offs: Greater than 70%, at least 10 attempts
| Will Vitelli – Quinnipiac: 13/18, 7 GB vs. Canisius |
| Mike Calvagna – Sacred Heart: 17/21, 8 GB, 1G vs. Wagner |
| Trent Harper – Air Force: 21/28, 14 GB, 2G, 1A vs. High Point |
| TD Ierlan – Albany (NY): 22/24, 13 GB, 1G vs. Hartford |
| Jason Simaan – Brown: 10/11, 7 GB vs. Dartmouth |
| Will Beecham – Mercer: 8/10, 6 GB vs. VMI |
| Chris Santangelo – Penn: 15/21, 9 GB, 2G, 1A vs. Virginia |
Goalies: Greater than 70%
| Christian Carson-Banister – Boston U.: 11/15 Saves, 2GB vs. Lehigh |
| Tanner Cosens – Binghamton: 13/18 Saves, 1GB vs. Stony Brook |
| Jacob Stover – Loyola: 12/15 Saves vs. Holy Cross |
| Nick Hreshko – Monmouth: 11/14 Saves, 1GB vs. Manhattan |
| Benny Pugh – Richmond: 11/14 Saves, 1GB vs. Furman |
| Robert Shaw – Harvard: 19/27 Saves, 1GB vs. Yale |
| Nick Marrocco – Georgetown: 13/17 Saves vs. St. John’s (NY) |
| Gage Ponsetti – Siena: 16/22 Saves, 3GB vs. Marist |
| Jacob Stover – Loyola: 12/16 Saves, 2GB, 1CT vs. Army West Point |
The Big Games, Upsets, and Surprises
Patriot League Tournament
- 7 Navy vs. Holy Cross 11 Navy has really struggled this year, but so has Holy Cross. But why is this a big win? Because this was Holy Cross’ first ever postseason win. Ever. This is not an upstart program, but head Coach Judd Lattimore is doing a great job treating it like one. The ‘Saders are heading in the right direction.
- 10 Boston U. vs. Lehigh 4 Unlike Holy Cross, BU is an upstart. If they were a person, they still would not even be in preschool, but they dominated Lehigh in this game. Big things are coming down the line for the Terriers.
- 13 Loyola vs. Holy Cross 3 Holy Cross followed up their great win by…getting beat up by Loyola. Happens.
- 10 Army vs. Boston U. 7 BU really gave Army a good test, but just could not make the plays they needed to. They still have Duke left on their schedule, but an NCAA bid is definitely out of reach.
- 13 Loyola vs. Army 4 This is the first time in a while that the top two seeded teams in the Patriot League actually faced each other. Loyola owned Army. Holding the Black Knights to a mere four goals is impressive. The Greyhounds are once again kings of the Patriot League for another season.
ACC Tournament
- 15 Syracuse vs. North Carolina 16 Almost, Syracuse. Almost. I did not like Syracuse’s chances in this game. It didn’t have anything to do with their history of one goal wins, but had more to do with UNC being right down the road and playing for their lives. Cuse will be fine. If you don’t think so, you did not see their 8-0 third quarter in this game in one of the best comebacks we have seen this year.
- 6 Duke vs. Notre Dame 7 This game was giving me flashbacks to the 2010 NCAA title game between these two schools. It was just so low scoring. Believe it or not, things actually picked up towards the end, but Notre Dame pulled out the win. Neither of these teams really needed a win here, but Duke is not going to hit a panic button based on this, either.
- 10 Notre Dame vs. North Carolina 14 UNC was in another must win game, and boy did they win it. From the first whistle, they dominated. Anish Shroff kept saying through this game how injuries are piling up for Notre Dame. That’s not a good sign, but they have had that in the past and still made it to Memorial Day weekend. Having Army up next is not a good matchup when you need rest and healing. The Black Knights are punishing. For UNC, they will now be in the NCAA tournament. This also shows how silly an AQ in a strong conference is. When you only invite the top 4 teams and the fourth seed needed to win two games just to be above .500 and stay eligible for the NCAA tournament, you would think only an AQ would save them. That is not the case. UNC is still an at-large bid, but the RPI boost from the wins is what gets them in. Now, that only works in a strong conference. Jacksonville pulling off two wins in the SoCon conference will not have the same effect.
Normal Games
- 12 Rutgers vs. Ohio State 11 OT Rutgers desperately needed this win. They are once again are a bubble team and are left out of the Big Ten tournament. Their resume is what it is. Ohio State still has the Big Ten tournament to add another win or two and argue for a good seed and home game.
- 10 Towson vs. Hofstra 8 This was a great game, but Towson took a late lead, milked the clock and came away with the win. They showed how well coached of a team they are. No bad mistakes down the stretch is what wins you games this time of year.
- 11 Virginia vs. Penn 17 This was not a storybook ending or redemption story for UVA. The Lars Tiffany era has begun the way the Dom Starsia one ended. Great talent, exciting play, but no ACC wins and no NCAA tournament.
- 13 Richmond vs. Furman 4 Furman had absolutely run through the SoCon this year, but had no other good games on their schedule. Enter Richmond. The Spiders really owned Furman in this game. I’ll be shocked if anyone outside of them or air force gets that conference AQ.
- 9 Harvard vs. Yale 8 This is a very disappointing loss for Yale. They really should have won this game, but their execution was just off. Harvard took advantage of every opportunity they were given and had some nice quick goals to avoid the 6 on 6 sets. Yale’s real prize is the Ivy tournament, though.
- 18 Cornell vs. Princeton 17 Huge win for Cornell. They have been trying to build something through this disappointing season, but their strength is in their youth right now. This gives them something good to cling to. For Princeton, things have not changed. They need the Ivy AQ.
- 8 Marquette vs. Denver 16 BREAKING: Denver won by a lot in the Big East game. This is not the senior heavy Marquette team from a year ago. Denver is looking very good right now and “upset” is not even the correct word if they lose in the Big East tournament.
- 7 Providence vs. Villanova 15 The other Big East contenders. This game should have been much closer, but this is a great testament to Villanova. They start the season off pretty rough, but are hitting their stride. Providence is still going in the right direction, but there is more work to do.
- 13 Cleveland State vs. Detroit Mercy 6 CLEVELAND STATE WON! This is a great win for the Vikings. In their final regular season game, they picked up their first win against a D1 opponent. Doing so by 7 goals is also a superb showing. This was a hallmark win for this new program.
- 12 Maryland vs. Johns Hopkins 5 Wow. Just wow. This game had a huge crowd, tons of history, and was setup to be a battle. Instead, Maryland dominated Hopkins and it was not even close. The Terps are looking scary right now. They can still win in the Big Ten tournament, but the smart money is not going to bet on it.
Out-of-Conference Conference Comparison
| Conference | Record | % | # of Teams |
| Big Ten | 45-8 | 0.849 | 6 |
| ACC | 36-14 | 0.720 | 5 |
| Colonial | 28-22 | 0.560 | 6 |
| America East | 29-26 | 0.527 | 7 |
| Ivy | 25-25 | 0.500 | 7 |
| Northeast | 28-31 | 0.475 | 7 |
| Patriot | 27-30 | 0.474 | 9 |
| Big East | 25-28 | 0.472 | 6 |
| MAAC | 19-36 | 0.345 | 7 |
| Southern | 18-36 | 0.333 | 8 |
Weekend Games to Watch
This week, there are a couple matchups that really have my eye:
Everything. Just watch every game. Any game. Seriously. Do it.
