Wednesday, November 4, 2015

Notes: Ivy Headliners

Vesey-O’Gara showdown a game within the game as unbeaten Harvard hosts Yale, plus much more.

Notes: Ivy Headliners
Jimmy Vesey (left) and Rob O’Gara (right) are two of eight returning All-Americans nationwide (Vesey photo: Gil Talbot; O’Gara photo: Yale Sports Publicity).

By Nate Ewell

Ivy League teams started their seasons just last weekend and waste no time in delivering one of the most anticipated matchups of the year – No. 12/9 Yale visiting No. 7/6 Harvard, both at 2-0-0, Friday night. The game within the game features two returning first team All-Americans back on campus for their senior seasons despite opportunities to sign NHL contracts. Harvard’s Jimmy Vesey (North Reading, Mass./South Shore-EJHL/NSH), the nation’s top goal scorer last season, goes head-to-head against Yale’s Rob O’Gara (Nesconset, N.Y./Milton Academy/BOS), perhaps the nation’s most complete defenseman.
Friday’s game is on NESN+

Must Read/See/Hear Material

New York Daily News: Out of the barn: UConn builds national brand in hockey
N.Y. Times: ASU’s growing program takes first strides in Division I
Pittsburgh Magazine: RMU begins climb to new heights
Grand Forks Herald: New UND goalie pushes himself on, off the ice
St. Cloud Times: SCSU’s sports car has had fast start
Providence Journal: Bigger, stronger Jankowski making noise for Friars
College Hockey News: Merrimack’s California kid
Schenectady Daily Gazette: Union hockey freshmen can be as old as seniors
USCHO.com: Off the ice, Michigan’s Nieves finds music ‘makes me whole’
College Hockey News: AIC’s Orszulak has two passions: hockey and Springsteen

Five More Storylines No One Should be Without

Last Lucia showdowns – Notre Dame entered the national poll (No. 18 in USCHO.com) after a sweep of Connecticut in its Hockey East opening weekend. The Fighting Irish duck back out of conference this weekend for the final scheduled matchup between senior Mario Lucia (Wayzata, Minn./Penticton-BCHL/MIN) and his father, Minnesota head coach Don Lucia. Mario is 1-4-0 against his dad, a Notre Dame alum, with 2g-1a in those games. He is the No. 5 leading active goal scorer in the NCAA (51).
Friday’s game is on ASN; Saturday’s game is on NBCSN

NCAA Head Coaches with Sons Playing NCAA Division I Hockey
Ted Donato, Harvard (son Ryan is a Harvard freshman)
Rick Gotkin, Mercyhurst (son Brandon is a Mercyhurst sophomore)
Don Lucia, Minnesota (son Mario is a Notre Dame senior)
Brian Riley, Army (son Jack is a Mercyhurst junior)
Tom Serratore, Bemidji State (son Matt is an Air Force freshman)
Wayne Wilson, RIT (son Stu is a Yale senior)

Most Goals, Active Players
59 – Andrew Gladiuk, Bentley
58 – Jimmy Vesey, Harvard (NSH)
55 – Kevin Roy, Northeastern (ANA)
53 – Bryce Gervais, Minnesota State
51 – Mario Lucia, Notre Dame (MIN)
50 – Danny O’Regan, Boston University (SJ)

WMU’s big man – Sheldon Dries (Macomb, Mich./Green Bay-USHL) may not stand out physically on the Western Michigan team; he’s 5-foot-9, 186 pounds on a Bronco team that, on average, is the nation’s heaviest and second-tallest. Dries’s leadership and talent, however, are obvious. A second-year captain as a junior, Dries has points in six of seven games this year including goals in three straight entering this weekend at Miami. He led a sweep of No. 1 Omaha last weekend and has WMU at 4-2-1 (2-0-0 NCHC).

Saulnier family ties – Alabama-Huntsville is off to a 3-2-1 start thanks in large part to huge offensive strides from sophomore Brennan Saulnier (Halifax, Nova Scotia/Fort McMurray-AJHL), who has 6 goals after scoring just once as a freshman. Saulnier has points in all 5 games he has played this year and was named the WCHA Player of the Month for October. It’s a busy time for the Saulnier family; earlier today Brennan’s sister, Cornell graduate Jillian Saulnier, helped Canada’s National Women’s Team beat Finland, 2-0, in the opening game of the 4 Nations Cup in Sweden.

Multi-talented Badger – When Wisconsin has managed more than a goal this season, the Badgers are 2-0-3. Helping spark that offense has been junior Jedd Soleway (Vernon, B.C./Penticton-BCHL/ARI), a power forward who leads the team in shots (37) and faceoffs (56.4%), and had a hand in both goals Saturday vs. Arizona State. The 6-foot-3, 220-pound Soleway has athleticism for a big man, too – check out this video of him hitting a home run in softball and doing a back flip in celebration.

Holy Cross’s proven winner – Holy Cross had a grueling early schedule – its first three games were against two teams that are a combined 12-0-1 – but back-to-back wins have the Crusaders on a roll entering a home-and-home with Sacred Heart. A balanced offense has led Holy Cross, including freshman Michael Laffin (Hopewell Valley, N.J./Jersey Hitmen-USPHL), one of six players with five or more points. Laffin brought an impressive pedigree to Holy Cross, having captained the USPHL champion Jersey Hitmen last season while setting the franchise scoring record (105 points in 56 regular season and playoff games).

NHL Note of the Week

Tuesday night Devin Shore (Dallas Stars/U. of Maine) became the 11th player who played NCAA hockey in 2014-15 to appear in the NHL this season.

Fries at the Bottom of the Bag

We are in the midst of a stretch in which there is at least one Division I men’s game on nine of 11 consecutive days from Oct. 29 to Nov. 8 … The USHL celebrated its 300th current player committing to an NCAA school on Wednesday … Boston College hosts Maine this weekend having shut out four of its last five opponents … Providence defenseman Jake Walman (Toronto, Ont./Toronto Jr. Canadiens-OJHL/STL) shares the national lead with 7 goals. Last year’s top goal-scoring defensemen, Denver’s Joey LaLeggia and Notre Dame’s Robbie Russo, both finished with 15 goals and were the only two blueliners with more than 10 … Robert Morris’s Greg Gibson (Burlington, Ont./Amarillo-NAHL) and Connecticut’s Max Letunov (Moscow, Russia/Youngstown-USHL/ARI) headline monthly award winners for October.