The last weekend in January offers a series of games that will go far in determining the champions of two of the region’s four Division 3 leagues.
First-place Endicott and second-place Curry play a home-and-home series, both with their eyes on the regular-season prize in the Commonwealth Coast Conference.
In a NESCAC that still has five teams jostling for the top spot, first-place Amherst faces tests against fellow contenders Wesleyan and Trinity.
There are wholesale changes to our regional Top 10 in our latest power rankings.
1. ENDICOTT
Previous ranking: No. 3
Next game: Friday at Curry (7 p.m.)
As it's turned out, the chore of replacing Concannon Award winner Conor O'Brien in goal hasn't been a chore at all. The Gulls have done it tandem-style with great results. Sophomore Atticus Kelly made a career-high 40 saves in Friday's 2-1 win over Salve Regina, and sophomore Ryan Wilson (Shelton, Conn.) stopped 24 shots in a 4-1 win over Salve a night later. Their 14-game win streak will get tested in a home-and-home with Curry this weekend.
2. NORWICH
Conference: NEHC | Record: 14-4-1 (10-1-2 NEHC)
Previous ranking: No. 1
Next game: Saturday at New England College (4 p.m.)
Senior Philip Elgstam gave the Cadets some much-needed scoring punch, scoring his first career hat trick in a 3-1 win at Castleton on Saturday. His eight goals this season match his total from his first three seasons combined. Norwich isn't scoring goals at will like some of its previous editions, but with Hobart losing a wild 7-5 decision to Elmira over the weekend, the team finds itself improbably in first place with three weekends to go.
3. CURRY
Conference: Commonwealth Coast | Record: 15-2 (11-2 CCC)
Previous ranking: No. 4
Next game: Friday vs. Endicott (7 p.m.)
The only team in the CCC that's keeping pace with Endicott's winning is Curry, which is on a 10-game win streak of its own. Timmy Kent continued his torrid season by racking up six points in a weekend sweep of Suffolk, including a hat trick in Saturday's 6-2 win. He now leads the nation in scoring with 14 goals and 18 assists for 32 points.
4. WESLEYAN
Conference: NESCAC | Record: 11-3-2 (7-1-2 NESCAC)
Previous ranking: No. 9
Next game: Friday vs. Amherst (7 p.m.)
The Cardinals saw their eight-game unbeaten streak snapped by a 4-3 non-conference loss to Albertus Magnus on Tuesday, which was also their first regulation loss of the season. Senior Wiggle Kerbrat (13 goals) is running away with the league scoring race, and his classmate, Jake Lachance (Andover, Mass.), leads the NESCAC in assists (13).
5. AMHERST
Conference: NESCAC | Record: 11-3-2 (9-1 NESCAC)
Previous ranking: N0. 8
Next game: Friday at Wesleyan (7 p.m.)
This is looking like a vintage Jack Arena team, built on defense. Nobody in the NESCAC is allowing fewer goals and the Mammoths rank seventh nationally in that category, at 1.88 per game. Not once all season have they allowed more than three goals in a game, and junior Alex Wisco (2.01 GAA, .917 save percentage) has played well in his first season as the No. 1 goalie. He made 37 saves in Friday's 2-1 win at Hamilton.
6. TRINITY
Previous ranking: No. 5
Next game: Friday vs. Hamilton (7:30 p.m.)
The Bantams are another NESCAC team on a tear, with seven straight wins to their name since a holiday tournament loss to Curry. They've conceded a total of eight goals in that span, with promising freshman goalie Devon Bobak taking the No. 1 job and running with it. He shut out both Tufts and Conn. College over the weekend.
7. BABSON
Previous ranking: No. 2
Next game: Friday vs. Castleton (7 p.m.)
The Beavers have fallen off the pace in the competitive NEHC, with losses in two of their last three games. They're 4-1-1 in games where their leading scorer, junior forward Thomas Kramer of Bridgewater, Mass. (7-12-19), scores a goal, and 8-5-1 when he doesn't. It's tough to see Babson finishing anywhere other than third place, behind Norwich and Hobart.
8. PLYMOUTH STATE
Previous ranking: No. 6
Next game: Saturday at Fitchburg State (3 p.m.)
The Panthers have won 11 straight games since Thanksgiving and continue to feast on league foes. Only one MASCAC opponent -- UMass Dartmouth -- has stayed within a goal of them during that stretch. Only three teams in Division 3 are scoring at a higher clip than their 4.50 per game, and Brendahn Brawley (2.36 GAA, .927 save percentage) has kept things solid at the other end.
9. UNIVERSITY OF NEW ENGLAND
Previous ranking: No. 7
Next game: Friday vs. Wentworth (7 p.m.)
The Nor'easters steamrolled Nichols over the weekend, winning two games by an aggregate 13-2. Senior forward Jake Fuss (Fairfield, Conn.) set up four goals in the two wins and now shares third place nationally with 17 assists. UNE has a relatively friendly schedule the rest of the way and will get a single crack at both Endicott and Curry, so Kevin Swallow's high-scoring team can't be counted out of the title race yet.
10. ALBERTUS MAGNUS
Conference: Independent | Record: 15-5-1
Previous ranking: NR
Next game: Friday vs. Rivier (4 p.m.)
Colby and Bowdoin could also make a case for this No. 10 slot – and they meet Saturday night in Brunswick, Maine, in one of college hockey’s best rivalries – but it’s Albertus Magnus that gets the salute in its fourth season of D-3 play. The Falcons own wins against five NESCAC programs: Hamilton (3-0), Trinity (5-4), Tufts (4-3), Conn. College (4-1) and – most recently – Wesleyan, with senior defenseman Harley Michaels scoring his first goal of the season to cap a come-from-behind 4-3 win on Tuesday.
@MikeZhe603
[email protected]
