SB Nation College Hockey - ECAC Hockey Coverage: December 6-7College Hockey's Home on the Blogospherehttps://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/49993/wchb-fav.png2013-12-06T23:17:30-08:00http://www.sbncollegehockey.com/rss/stream/49471032013-12-06T23:17:30-08:002013-12-06T23:17:30-08:00Union Shuts Out Princeton, Quinnipiac Up Next
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<img alt="Mat Bodie" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/qlbD8Ovl-J31mNCyZ0H_Xt6zEnk=/0x12:1000x679/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/24661445/20120405_ajw_sv7_036.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Mat Bodie | Kim Klement-US PRESSWIRE</figcaption>
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<p>Mat Bodie hit the century mark in career scoring on Friday night.</p> <p>Schenectady, NY -- Union College won its sixth straight game on Friday night, easily disposing of an injury-depleted Princeton squad, 3-0. Kevin Sullivan and Daniel Ciampini scored first period goals for the Dutchmen and Mat Bodie added an insurance marker in the final frame.</p>
<p>Bodie had an assist in addition to his goal to give him 100 career points at Union. The Dutchmen (9-3-2) outshot the Tigers 34-20. Union junior goaltender Colin Stevens recorded his second shutout of the season.</p>
<p>Rick Bennett's team is now just two points behind Quinnipiac in the standings with the Bobcats coming to town on Saturday evening. However, Union has played two less games than Quinnipiac, who rallied from a 2-0 deficit to tie RPI, 3-3 on Friday night.</p>
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<p><i>Jeff Cox covers college and junior hockey, NCAA recruiting, NHL Draft prospects and the AHL for SBNation. Follow him on twitter <a target="_blank" href="http://www.twitter.com/jeffcoxsbnation">@JeffCoxSBNation</a>.</i></p>
https://www.sbncollegehockey.com/ecac/2013/12/6/5184812/ecac-hockey-union-shuts-out-princeton-sets-up-first-place-showdown-quinnipiacJeff Cox2013-12-06T22:21:47-08:002013-12-06T22:21:47-08:00Third Period Surge Carries Clarkson Past SLU
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<img alt="Clarkson had more reason to celebrate on Friday night." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/wmlGbUJRsGl8EF_6vV6r1GQ3a2U=/55x0:1045x660/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/24659637/clarkson.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Clarkson had more reason to celebrate on Friday night. | Mike Tansey</figcaption>
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<p>St. Lawrence hasn't defeated Clarkson since December 10, 2011.</p> <p>Potsdam, NY -- Clarkson scored three times in the third period to continue its recent dominance over archrival St. Lawrence. The Golden Knights defeated their foes from just down the road, 5-3, on Friday night at a sold-out Cheel Arena.</p>
<p>Five different players scored a goal for Casey Jones' team. T.J. Moor and Simone Bessette scored in the first period as the two teams each traded a pair of goals in the first 20 minutes.</p>
<p>Trailing 3-2 heading into the final period, Clarkson scored three times, including tallies by Jarrett Burton, Jeff DiNallo and Troy Josephs, to take a 5-3 lead. The Saints would add a goal to make it interesting, but couldn't get the equalizer past Clarkson goaltender Greg Lewis who made 17 saves.</p>
<p>Matt Carey had two goals and an assist while his older brother Greg had three helpers in the losing effort. Jeremy Wick also had two scores for Greg Carvel's Saints. Matt Weninger stopped 18 of the 23 shots he faced.</p>
<p>The two teams will meet again in the series finale on Saturday night at Appleton Arena in Canton.</p>
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<p><i>Jeff Cox covers college and junior hockey, NCAA recruiting, NHL Draft prospects and the AHL for SBNation. Follow him on twitter <a target="_blank" href="http://www.twitter.com/jeffcoxsbnation">@JeffCoxSBNation</a>.</i></p>
https://www.sbncollegehockey.com/ecac/2013/12/6/5184734/ecac-hockey-third-period-surge-carries-clarkson-past-st-lawrenceJeff Cox2013-12-06T10:24:56-08:002013-12-06T10:24:56-08:00Quinnipiac Faces Tough Test at RPI, Union
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<img alt="Kellen Jones celebrates with his teammates after scoring a goal against St. Cloud in last season's Frozen Four." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/hBAzbHCkktlpQ-6rekAWFB6Rwo8=/0x95:4000x2762/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/24623621/166357489.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Kellen Jones celebrates with his teammates after scoring a goal against St. Cloud in last season's Frozen Four. | Justin K. Aller</figcaption>
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<p>Quinnipiac brings one of the top lines in all of college hockey to go up against RPI and Union.</p> <p>Quinnipiac faces a daunting task this weekend as the Bobcats travel to the Capital District to face RPI and Union in what will be their last ECAC games for a month. Ranked in the top five of the country and looking to make it back to college hockey's pinnacle event, the Frozen Four, Quinnipiac is 13-2-2.</p>
<p>Rand Pecknold's team has had several tough tests so far this season, including a home-and-home series against UMass-Lowell and home games against Providence and Yale. This weekend might be tougher than all of those games as Quinnipiac will be going up against two very good teams on the road in hostile environments.</p>
<p>First up is a matchup with RPI at Houston Field House in Troy on Friday night. Quinnipiac's young defense will have to contain the nation's leading goal scorer, Ryan Haggerty. The junior from Stamford, Conn. has 15 goals in 13 games on the season. Brock Higgs, a finalist for the Senior CLASS Award, has nine goals. The two combined account for nearly half of Rensselaer's 52 goals on the season.</p>
<p>Quinnipiac's stout offensive attack will be going up against backup goaltender Scott Diebold, who is replacing last year's ECAC Rookie of the Year Jason Kasdorf who has missed significant time with an injury. RPI has scored four shorthanded goals, including two by defenseman Guy Leboeuf. Forward Mike Zalewski is a physical presence who grinds on the penalty kill and in the dirty areas.</p>
<p>First place, potentially, could be on the line Saturday night at Messa Rink at the Achille Center in Schenectady. Union is three points in back of QU right now, but has played one less game. The Dutchmen bring a five-game winning streak into the weekend and have won seven of eight overall. Rick Bennett's team is playing good hockey, but will have a game against Princeton Friday before being able to focus on Quinnipiac.</p>
<p>Colin Stevens has been somewhat inconsistent for Union in his first season as the full-time starter, replacing Troy Grosenick who signed with the San Jose Sharks over the summer. He was yanked from last Sunday's 5-4 dramatic win over Penn State.</p>
<p>Junior forward Daniel Ciampini has three goals over the last four games, including his tally with just three seconds left to beat the Nittany Lions at State College. Senior Daniel Carr, the school's all-time leader in goal scoring, is tied with Ciampino for team lead in goals this season with seven. Defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere, a Philadelphia Flyers prospect, leads the team in scoring with six goals and nine assists. Gostisbehere had a remarkable 17 shots on goal during the two-game series sweep of PSU last weekend. RPI coach Seth Appert called him the best player in college hockey after their series earlier in the season.</p>
<p>Quinnipiac will bring one of the best lines in all of college hockey to the Capital District. Seniors Kellen and Connor Jones and freshman Sam Anas have combined for 26 goals on the season. The Jones brothers both surpassed the 100 point total for their careers earlier in the season. Anas, a highly touted freshman out of Potomac, Md., has 12 goals and 12 assists for 24 points to lead all three statistical categories among NCAA rookies. Anas, who played on a line with BC freshman Austin Cangelosi for the Youngstown Phantoms (USHL) last season, was named the ECAC Rookie of the Month for November.</p>
<p>Michael Garteig might not be Hobey Baker finalist Eric Hartzell, but he is a capable replacement. The sophomore was named the ECAC Goaltender of the Month for November.</p>
<p>Quinnipiac bounced back from a shocking upset loss at the hands of Princeton to pick up a win and tie last week. The Bobcats outshot Providence, 48-22, but had to settle for a 3-3 draw, mainly because of the heroics of Friars goaltender Jon Gillies. A few nights later Rand Pecknold's team trounced UMass, 6-1.</p>
<p>Will the Bobcats continue their roll towards a second consecutive ECAC Regular Season Championship or will they get tripped up at RPI and Union?</p>
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<p><i>Jeff Cox covers college and junior hockey, NCAA recruiting, NHL Draft prospects and the AHL for SBNation. Follow him on twitter <a href="http://www.twitter.com/jeffcoxsbnation">@JeffCoxSBNation</a>.</i></p>
https://www.sbncollegehockey.com/2013/12/6/5182470/ecac-hockey-quinnipiac-rpi-union-sam-anas-michael-garteig-shayne-gostisbehereJeff Cox2013-12-06T07:38:56-08:002013-12-06T07:38:56-08:00Clarkson, St. Lawrence Renew Rivalry
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<img alt="St. Lawrence senior Greg Carey" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/9J8DzAeZmLAPTHs0L2aNACqz9U4=/0x30:667x475/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/24573185/gregcarey.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>St. Lawrence senior Greg Carey | Tara Freeman (SLU Athletics)</figcaption>
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<p>The battle of the North Country rages on this weekend in Potsdam and Canton.</p> <p>Clarkson and St. Lawrence will battle for the 194th and 195th times on Friday night at Cheel Arena and Saturday night at Appleton Arena in one of college hockey's best rivalries. The Golden Knights have a decided advantage in the all-time series with a career mark of 118-65-10 against the Saints.</p>
<p>St. Lawrence has not defeated Clarkson since December 10, 2011 when the Saints were victorious, 4-1. Clarkson won the first two meetings last season, 4-1 and 3-1, before rallying from a three-goal deficit to force a 3-3 tie in the third meeting of the campaign.</p>
<p>"There's definitely extra emotion even just around town. Everybody in Potsdam wants to beat St. Lawrence and everyone in Canton wants to beat Clarkson," said Golden Knights senior Matt Zarbo, a candidate for the prestigious Senior CLASS Award.</p>
<p>"When you go in the building there is just nothing like a Clarkson-St. Lawrence game. The game has been sold out for two months now. The building is just so loud. Usually our pep band does a "Gold-Out" so half of one end is just gold jerseys. It's just an unreal atmosphere so that fires up every player," added the Grand Island, NY native.</p>
<p>The two teams certainly play a contrasting style with Casey Jones' team more defensive oriented while Greg Carvel's Saints like to play an up-tempo offensive system.</p>
<p>When you have a player like Greg Carey on your side, who can blame St. Lawrence for thinking offense first? The senior from Hamilton, Ontario has 11 goals and 18 assists in 16 games. Carey brings an 11-game point streak into the weekend, and has only been held out of the box score twice all season. He was a Hobey Baker Award finalst last season and is sure to garner even more recognition this season.</p>
<p>The Saints offense starts with Carey, but certainly doesn't end with him. His younger brother Matt, a redshirt freshman, has nine goals and ten assists. Senior Jeremy Wick has potted seven goals after only netting 17 in his first three seasons.</p>
<p>The Saints blue line can step up and contribute offensively as well. Senior Justin Baker has five goals and 11 assists while rookie Gavin Bayreuther has four goals and eight assists.</p>
<p>St. Lawrence's team defense and goaltending have been suspect and extremely inconsistent to say the least. Senior Matt Weninger is the likely starter as he is the team's workhorse. He has a 3.41 goals against average and a .875 save percentage.</p>
<p>Clarkson is off to one of its best starts in quite a while thanks to a senior-laden team with good leadership. "I think our mindset and our focus has changed. It helps to have a big senior class. Last year we only had four seniors. This year we have seven. It really helps to have the experience and leadership of a senior class to guide some of the younger guys. Our freshmen this year have contributed a lot. They've been very good for us. Overall our team just has more depth," said Zarbo.</p>
<p>A vast improvement in team defense has been another key to the turnaround in Potsdam. Sophomore Greg Lewis started the season on fire between the pipes, and although his numbers have slowed down, he is still a capable goaltender. The Mars, Pa. native has a .912 save percentage and a 2.11 goals against average.</p>
<p>The defense in front of Lewis and freshman goaltender Steve Perry has been a big reason for the improvement in the goaltending statistics and the overall ability to keep the puck out of the net. Junior defenseman James Howden has the best plus/minus (+6 ) on the team while sophomores Paul Geiger and Kevin Tansey are just one behind. Junior Sam Labrecque is also a capable blue liner for being undersized. Freshman James de Haas, a Detroit Red Wings draft pick, has made some rookie mistakes, but his size has added some force to the defense.</p>
<p>Zarbo said one of the keys to keeping Greg Carey and St. Lawrence off the board is to cycle the pucks well in the offensive zone. "One of the things we need to do is work pucks down low in [St. Lawrence's] end. Keep the puck as far away from our net as possible. You have to take aware that a kid like Greg Carey who can really shoot the puck is on the ice and keep an eye out for him when you're out there. Keep him to the outside and limit his scoring chances as best we can."</p>
<p>Clarkson is not known for its offense, but the Golden Knights have some dangerous forwards. Boston Bruins prospect Ben Sexton leads the team in scoring with three goals and 10 assists. Senior Allan McPherson is tops in goal scoring with seven while junior Joe Zarbo has four tallies, including two game-winners.</p>
<p>Zarbo said that the team needs to be level headed and not get too far ahead of itself after such a good start, especially with rival St. Lawrence on the agenda. "It's pretty much about keeping our emotions in check. We've had a great start, but we have a tough schedule ahead of us," said Zarbo. "We've got to keep on it and keep working hard and keep focusing on the things that keep us successful," he added.</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><b><u>Keys to the Series:</u></b></p>
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<li><span>Clarkson, the fourth-most penalized team in the ECAC, needs to stay out of the sin bin. The St. Lawrence power play is lethal, connecting at a clip of 28.6 percent.</span></li>
<li><span>Goaltending will play a huge role in this series for different reasons. Clarkson's defensive style lends itself towards relying on goaltending, and it will certainly be important for Greg Lewis to play well. No defense can completely contain Greg Carey and company all weekend so Lewis will have to make some big saves to steal a few goals from SLU. On the other hand, SLU's goaltending has not been up to par statistically. A big weekend from senior Matt Weninger could go a long way in securing St. Lawrence's first victory in the series since 2011.</span></li>
<li>Expect the unexpected. It is usually a unsung hero who comes up with a big goal in a rivalry series. </li>
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<p><i>Jeff Cox covers college and junior hockey, NCAA recruiting, NHL Draft prospects and the AHL for SBNation. Follow him on twitter <a href="http://www.twitter.com/jeffcoxsbnation" target="_blank">@JeffCoxSBNation</a>.</i></p>
https://www.sbncollegehockey.com/2013/12/6/5179714/rivals-clarkson-st-lawrence-prepare-for-big-weekend-series-in-ecac-greg-carey-matt-zarboJeff Cox