By NoontimeSports.com
The Harvard University women’s ice hockey team returns to the NCAA tournament on Saturday when they travel to Boston College to face-off against the Eagles in the first round at 1:00 p.m.
Harvard’s athletic department posted a video earlier today to get fans excited about the Crimson’s contest and below is the reel from their YouTube channel.
Johnny Gaudreau recorded six points against the Catamounts, which helped the Eagles conclude the regular season with a win! (Photo Credit: ESPN)
By Matt Noonan
There were some important games that occurred on Saturday and below are their summaries.
Men’s Ice Hockey:
UMass 3, Merrimack College 0 - Conor Allen assisted on two of his team’s three goals, while Adam Phillips, Conor Sheary and Colin Shea each recorded one goal for the Minutemen.
UMass Lowell 4, Providence College 1 - Scott Wilson and Josh Holmstrom each recorded two points (one goal, one assist) as the River Hawks defeated the Friars and claimed their first Hockey East regular season crown.
Boston University 5, Northeastern University 0 - Danny O’Regan finished the contest with three points (one goal, two assists), Sahir Gill added two points (two goals) as the Terriers dominated the Huskies in Boston.
Boston College 7, Vermont 2 - Johnny Gaudreau recorded a season-best six points (two goals, four assists), Bill Arnold registered four points (two goals, two assists) as the Eagles soared past the Catamounts in Vermont.
RIT 7, American International 1 - Chris Porter was the only player to light the lamp for AIC as his shot in the third brought the Yellow Jackets within three. The Tigers responded with three additional tallies, which helped the hosts dislodge the Yellow Jackets from the first round of the Atlantic Hockey Association.
Dartmouth 4, Harvard 1 - The Big Green forced a rubber match on Sunday as the hosts one second period strike and two third period goals to beat the Crimson. Harvard’s Alex Fallstrom sliced his opponent’s lead with a goal at 8:43 in the second, but that’d be the closest the Crimson would get.
Norwich University 4, Babson College 0 - The Beavers season came to a halt as the Cadets tallied four strikes — two in the first and two in the third, which helped them defeat Babson in the NCAA Division III quarterfinals.
Women’s Ice Hockey:
Boston University 4, Providence College 0 - Louise Warren netted the Terriers third and fourth goals in the second, which secured the Terriers a spot in tomorrow’s Hockey East championship. Sarah Lefort and Marie-Philip Poulin each netted a goal in the victory.
Northeastern University 4, Boston College 1 - Kendall Coyne recorded her 36th goal of the season, Casey Pickett registered her 21st as the Huskies topped the Eagles in the Hockey East semifinals.
Harvard 4, Clarkson 2 - Mary Parker recorded three points (two goals, one assist), Jillian Dempsey finished with two points (one goal, one assist) as the Crimson defeated the Golden Knights in the ECAC semifinals in Ithaca College. Harvard will face-off against Cornell University tomorrow in the conference championship at 1:00 p.m.
By NoontimeSports.com
With it being Friday, we thought we’d unveil our five college hockey games to watch this weekend. Remember to circle back to our blog throughout the weekend for recaps, roundups and releases.
Also, make sure to follow us on Twitter (@NoontimeSports or @NoonSportsBlog) and become a fan on Facebook (Facebook.com/NoonSports).
Men’s Ice Hockey:
Boston University vs. UMass Lowell (Friday, 7:30 p.m. @BU, Saturday, 7:00 p.m. @ UMass Lowell) – Both squads are separated by two points in the standings, so obviously this weekend’s games are critical for both squads.
UMass Lowell’s Derek Arnold registered five points (three goals, two assists) in his team’s last two games, so it’ll be important for Boston University’s defense to shut down the Foxborough native when he’s on the ice.
BU has had nine games since the turn of the new year that have been decided by one tally, so it’ll be interesting to see the outcomes.
The Terriers are 11-4 in their last 15 meetings with the River Hawks. UML did defeat BU in their last meeting on January 19, 4-3.
Northeastern University vs. Providence College (Friday, 7:00 p.m. @ Providence, Saturday, 7:00 p.m. @ Northeastern) – Northeastern squandered two opportunities last weekend to pick up some points in the standings, as Vermont swept the series with back-to-back wins at Matthews Arena.
The Huskies, though, managed to pick up a critical overtime road win on Wednesday against UMass, and this weekend they’ll need to be at their best against a quality Friars squad that’s fifth in the Hockey East. Northeastern can still earn a spot in the conference tournament, but they’ll need to win out, as well as get some help. Yet, wins against Providence this weekend would certainly help.
Providence defeated Northeastern earlier this season, 6-2. Derek Army recorded a hat trick in the contest, which secured the win for the hosts.
Middlebury College at Amherst College (Saturday, 1:00 p.m.) – The first round of the NESCAC (New England Small College Athletic Conference) playoffs begin this weekend and this game certainly should be interesting.
Literally one week ago, Johnny Van Siclen netted the game-winning strike with 3:12 remaining, which secured a season sweep for Amherst College.
Middlebury enters the conference quarterfinals with a great deal of history on their side. The Panthers are 27-5 in the 13 year history of the conference tournament and own eight league titles.
The Panthers rank third in the conference in scoring offense with 82 goals, while the Lord Jeffs defense is number one and has yielded 48 goals this season.
Women’s Ice Hockey:
St. Lawrence at Harvard University (Friday, 7:00 p.m.) – Cornell University and Harvard remain tied in total points atop the standings. However, the Big Red do have an additional overall win, so obviously points this evening against St. Lawrence would help the Crimson in their quest toward earning the top spot in the ECAC.
Harvard is a perfect 10-0 at home this season, while St. Lawrence is 6-5-3 away from their home ice. In the teams last meeting, Kalley Armstrong’s extra session strike lifted the Crimson past the Saints
Northeastern vs. Providence College (Saturday, 7:00 p.m. @Providence, Sunday, 4:00 p.m. @ Northeastern) – There are a few storylines worth watching in this particular series, but the biggest one is that the Huskies can clinch the third seed in the upcoming Hockey East playoffs with a win or tie.
NU’s Rachel Llanes is a few points shy of tallying 100 career points. Through 134 games in her career with the Huskies, she’s recorded 98 points (38 goals, 60 assists).
Providence is still alive for a playoff spot and according to the conference’s weekend release, the Friars can finish anywhere from third to fifth in the standings.
The Huskies topped the Friars earlier this season at Matthews Arena, 8-7, and received two tallies and two assists from Kendall Coyne.
By NoontimeSports.com
We apologize for this late, as well as shortened mid-week check in, but we’ll definitely have more on the blog later. Here are a few mid-week tidbits:
* One of the biggest pieces of news this week was Assumption College’s announcement on Tuesday about the hiring of Bob Chesney, who’ll be the new football coach next season for the Greyhounds. Chesney, who spent the past three years as the head coach at Salve Regina, guided the Seahawks to a 23-9 record. According to the college’s release, Chesney coached 30 All-Conference selections, two All-Americans, 41 Academic All-Conference selections and one Academic All-American and his defense consistently ranked among the league and national leaders.
* Last night was the women’s Boston Beanpot, and similar to the men’s tournament, Boston College and Northeastern University will be facing-off against one another in the finals next Tuesday, February 12. The Huskies knocked off Boston University, a squad they defeated last year during the tournament’s finale, while the Eagles soared past an incredibly talented Harvard University squad.
* According to the most recent men’s D3Hoops.com poll, WPI’s men’s basketball team checked in as the second best team in the country. Chris Bartley’s squad is 21-0 thus far and has four more contests remaining on their slate. The Engineers have been a great story this season.
* Amherst College’s women’s team, which checked in this week as the third best team in America, is another squad without a blemish. The Lord Jeffs picked up an enormous win last weekend, as they defeated Tufts University, 54-48. Megan Robertson and Marcia Voigt each tallied 13 points in the win.
By Matt Noonan
Good morning to everyone!
I just wanted to pass along a quick program note to remind everyone that today is the first day of the 61st Boston Beanpot, and Noontime Sports will be at the TD Garden covering all the action.
Boston University and Northeastern University will face-off in the first game at 5:00 p.m., which will be followed by Boston College and Harvard University at 8:00 p.m.
As the evening progresses, we’ll be providing rapid game summaries from each contest, along with video interviews with coaches and players, and much more on the blog. Of course, we’ll have some leftovers too, which we’ll post on Tuesday.
If you can’t make it to the Garden, you can follow all the action on Twitter by using the hashtag: #Beanpot. Both games will be televised on NESN (New England Sports Network), and the BC-Harvard game will be heard on 98.5 the Sports Hub.
Below are a few links to get you extra amped for the first day. And of course, don’t forget to follow us on Twitter (@NoontimeSports or @NoonSportsBlog).
LINKS:
* The Boston Globe has an interesting piece about Boston College’s quest for a fourth straight Beanpot championship.
* CBS Boston somewhat mimics the Globe and provides their own piece on the Boston College Eagles.
* BU Today provides a piece about the Terriers men’s and women’s hockey teams.
* The Patriot Ledger has an interesting profile on Northeastern University’s Dan Cornell of Abington.
* SB Nation has a post with various links, times and Twitter accounts to follow throughout the course of the afternoon and evening.
* The Harvard Crimson published a list of great finishes for both the men’s and women’s teams over the past few years.
* The Boston Herald published a great piece on Northeastern University’s Kevin Roy.
* The Boston Herald also provided a piece on Boston College’s outlook toward Harvard.
By Matt Noonan
Every Friday, we’ll unveil 10 games to watch in the college hockey world in Massachusetts. And to kick off this weekly column, here is this weekend’s menu, which features some intriguing matchups.
Men’s Ice Hockey:
* Boston College at Boston University (Friday/Saturday) – Eagles head coach Jerry York is a humble man. And even though he’s deflected questions about setting the NCAA record for wins, you know he’d like to earn wins 924 and 925 against rival Boston University. BC has won 10 consecutive games and is the No. 1 team in the country. Prediction: Eagles sweep the weekend series and provide York with his 925th win.
* UMass at Northeastern (Friday/Saturday) – The Huskies desperately need wins, but so do the Minutemen. Expect both contests to come down to defense and goaltending. Prediction: UMass is 2-0 against Boston College this season, so I wouldn’t be surprised if they pick up their first two wins against Northeastern.
* Nichols College at Suffolk University (Saturday) – Despite earning a third place finish in the Worcester City Shootout Tournament, Kevin Swallow’s crew was able to rebound with an important ECAC Northeast conference victory against Wentworth on Thursday. Prediction: The Bison extend their current winning streak to three-games and hand the Rams a 5-2 setback.
* Amherst College at Wesleyan University (Friday) – The Lord Jeffs are one of the best teams in Division III. However, one can’t overlook an opponent, which is why this particular tilt could be interesting. The Cardinals outscored their last two opponents, 15-2, so expect their offense to continue their success later today. Prediction: Amherst’s goaltending should hold up in this one, so pick the men sporting the purple and white to beat the squad that has red on their sweaters.
* Westfield State at Salem State (Saturday) – Losses to Amherst and UMass Dartmouth can easily be forgotten if Westfield State can pick u a conference road win on Saturday in Salem. Prediction: Even though it isn’t Halloween, Owls can still fly around Salem at night, right? Go Blue and White!
Women’s Ice Hockey:
* Maine at Boston College (Friday/Saturday) – The Eagles are flying high these days and have won four of their last five games. They’re coming off wins against Quinnipiac and Yale in the Nutmeg Classic Tournament and could certainly use a few more victories to keep pace with Providence. Prediction: Similar to the men’s ice hockey team, expect the Eagles to have no problem against the last place Bears.
* Boston University vs. Providence College (Friday/Saturday) – The Friars haven’t recorded a win since Nov. 10 against Connecticut. Boston University, though, has won three of their last four. The Terries demolished the Friars a few weeks ago, and could do that again this weekend. Prediction: I’m picking the Terriers to sweep their weekend series.
* Dartmouth at Harvard (Fri. Nov. 30)/ Russia at Harvard (Sat. Dec. 1) – Behind some superb defensive play, the Crimson have gotten off to a fast start in the ECAC. Their 7-1 record doesn’t seem like a fluke, but this weekend they’ll have two intriguing matchups against the Big Green and Russia’s Women’s National Team. Prediction: I think the Crimson shouldn’t have too many problems skating past Dartmouth, but the game against Russia certainly could be a challenge. Do you believe in miracles in Cambridge?
* Norwich University at Holy Cross (Sunday) – This is probably one of the most intriguing matchups of the weekend, and it will be played on a sheet of ice in Worcester. The Cadets are one of the top teams in the nation, but the Crusaders aren’t too bad either. Holy Cross is riding a two-game winning streak and will look to extend it with victories against St. Michael’s on Saturday and Norwich on Sunday. Prediction: Upset special anyone? I’ll take the Crusaders in this one.
* Wesleyan University at Amherst College (Friday/Saturday) – Despite dropping three consecutive contests to Elmira, Hamilton and Plattsburgh, the Lord Jeffs can secure their spot in this week’s D3Hockey.com rankings with victories against NESCAC foe Wesleyan. The Cardinals are 2-2 and coming off a tough loss to Holy Cross. Prediction: Could this be an upset waiting to happen? Both squads will see each other twice, and I think they split the series.
By NoontimeSports.com
The 11th week of the college football season is officially here. And below is this week’s slate of games.
Saturday, Nov. 10:
* Harvard at Penn, 12PM
* Williams College at Amherst College, 12PM
* Norwich at Becker College, 12PM
* Springfield College at WPI, 12PM
* American International at New Haven, 12PM (Northeast-10 Conference Championship)
* Tufts University at Middlebury College, 12:30PM
* Holy Cross at Wagner, 1PM
* Mount Ida College at Castleton State, 1PM (Eastern Collegiate Football Conference Championship)
* Assumption College at Bentley University, 1PM
* So. Conn. at Stonehill College, 1PM
* Saint Anselm at Merrimack College, 1PM
* Husson at Anna Maria, 1PM
* Salve Regina at Framingham State (New England Football Conference Championship)
* UMass at Akron, 2PM
* Notre Dame at Boston College, 8PM
By Matt Noonan
CAMBRIDGE, MA – On Wednesday afternoon, WPI’s Mitch McClune was awarded this week’s Golden Helmet Award at the weekly New England Football Writers’ Gridiron Club of Greater Boston luncheon.
McClune, who had never won this prestigious award, was speechless when introduced to coaches and media members at Harvard University.
However, once the weekly gathering adjourned, the graduate student had no problem piecing together sentences about the award, as well as the season, too.
“This is all new to me,” admitted the Pembroke native.
Against St. Lawrence University last Saturday, McClune tallied four interceptions (a school record) against the Saints in his team’s first Liberty League victory.
“Things kind of worked out,” McClune stated. “They kept throwing the ball my way.
“It was pretty much the first time all year I’ve been challenged at corner and had the ball actually thrown at me, so that was kind of good to see it, but bad for them because the [opposing quarterback] kept throwing it at me.”
McClune recorded his first interception late in the second quarter, which resulted in touchdown three plays later.
Once the second half commenced, McClune became Saints quarterback Danny Metzgar’s favorite target, as the Natick native sailed three of his passes in the graduate student’s direction.
“We were pretty much sitting in Cover 2 [defense] a lot,” McClune said of his team’s defensive formation.
“The last play of the game was kind of just a fluke thing. [Metzger] just threw it up, I got lucky, but I’ll take it either way.”
Prior to his career day, McClune admitted the last time he came close to four picks was during a youth football game where he accumulated two interceptions. At Boston College High School, he admitted it was roughly one pick per game.
“It didn’t really set in until after the game that I had four,” explained McClune.
“[My teammates] were talking to me and I said if he throws it again, I’m going to pick it off, and I really wasn’t thinking about how many I had, but he threw it up on the last play and I figured I’d come down with it.”
Excluding the four interceptions and junior John Antonopoulos’s four touchdowns (three through the air, one on the ground) the victory provided an end to the Engineers’ six-game losing streak, as well as marked their first win in the conference, too.
WPI has two games remaining, and while they won’t be making the trek to a conference championship or tournament, McClune hopes their second win of the season will translate into successful outcomes against Rochester and Springfield College.
“We’ve been in a lot of tough close games this year where one or two plays go a different way we’d come out on top,” said McClune.
“[Being] able to get that win and put a great game together all around on offense and defense feels good, so hopefully we can carry that over to the last two weeks and get on kind of a roll to finish it out. It would be great.”
McClune is the second player this season from the Liberty League to earn this honor. Earlier this year, Springfield College’s Jonathan Marrero was named the Div. II/III recipient after registering seven touchdowns in two quarters.
By NoontimeSports.com
Here are the scores from Saturday’s afternoon contests.
* Army 34, Boston College 31
* Western Michigan 52, UMass 14
* Holy Cross 13, Bucknell 6
* Harvard 45, Cornell University 13
* New Haven 65, Assumption College 7
* Mount Ida College 48, Anna Maria College 35
* Maritime (N.Y.) 33, Becker College 7
* Bowdoin College 17, Tufts University 10
* Bates College 33, Williams 6
* Middlebury 24, Amherst College 3
* Endicott College 56, Nichols College 7
* Salve Regina 57, UMass Dartmouth 21
* Curry College 35, Western New England College 32
* MIT 28, Plymouth State 7
* Westfield State 63, Maine Maritime 13
* Worcester State 28, Mass. Maritime 20
* Framingham State 39, Fitchburg State 9
* Bridgewater State 44, Coast Guard 21
* Union College 21, WPI 6
* Hobart 28, Springfield College 7
By Matt Noonan
CAMBRIDGE, MA – It’s been roughly one month since No. 24 Harvard took the field in preparations for their Ivy League title defense, and on Saturday the Crimson commenced another season with a 28-13 victory against the University of San Diego.
The win wasn’t exactly the prettiest, as Harvard’s offense only produced points in the second and fourth quarters, while their defense struggled to contain San Diego in the first and third. Harvard’s offense and defense also racked up 119 yards on eight penalties, which didn’t please head coach Tim Murphy.
“There’s no excuse,” exclaimed Murphy. “We talked about it coming in and our style of football is make people beat us, don’t beat yourselves.
“Don’t beat yourselves with turnovers, don’t beat yourselves with metal mistakes, and don’t beat yourselves with penalties. The penalties we had today were completely unnecessary. Sometimes you get an aggressive penalty and today they were completely unnecessary and really put us in a bind on two drives in the first half and we will address it.”
Yet, penalties aside, the Crimson were still able to overcome their mistakes by producing 21 unanswered points in the fourth quarter, which secured the win.
Quarterback Colton Chapple, who appeared nervous at times, began the final frame with an eight-yard pass to Kyle Juszczyk, which was followed up by two rushing touchdowns during the final six minutes by Treavor Scales (19 carries, 177 yards, 2 TDs).
“There were some definite tangible adjustments [throughout the game],” said Murphy. “Eventually we were able to run the football and we also got a couple breaks on some penalties, so a combinational of those things were the difference.”
San Diego began the contest with a 19 play, 81-yard drive, which didn’t result in six points, but instead an Ernie Collins field goal.
The Crimson answered in the second quarter with a touchdown pass from Chapple to Cameron Brate that provided Harvard with a 7-3 advantage at the break.
Once the second half commenced, Chapple, who completed only one pass on three attempts in the third quarter, fought to move his team up field, but the Crimson’s offense stalled and the Toreros mustered 10 points on back-to-back drives, which gave them their only lead of the contest before Harvard’s offense went to work in the fourth.
“Hats off to Harvard playing a good game when it mattered most,” said San Diego head coach Ron Caragher. “[The] second and fourth quarter I thought they really played solid football.”
Game Notes:
* With the win Saturday, Harvard has now won 12 consecutive home openers at Harvard Stadium.
* Harvard is now 59-2 when leading at halftime. That record began in the 2003 season.
* San Diego quarterback Mason Mills completed the game with 354 yards. Harvard has not allowed an opposing quarterback to throw more than 300 yards since 2003.
* The Crimson defense finished the contest with 14 pass breakups and seven sacks.
