Division 3 hockey in New England has a staggered opening.
Several of the region's men's teams were in action this past weekend, the first one where games counted. But several others, including teams from the NESCAC, who don’t play their first games until Nov. 19, were not.
Still, an opening weekend for the first time in two years gave us plenty of results and performances to evaluate, from quality out-of-conference wins to a pair of four-team season-opening tournaments to a team recording its first-ever victory.
Here are the top four takeaways.
For a look at our preseason New England top 10 click here.
Which result impressed us the most?
It wasn’t just Plymouth State heading up to Plattsburgh and taking home a 3-2 win in the opener for both teams in front of more than 1,100 fans. No, it was also how the Panthers did it.
In a 2-0 hole midway through the second period, they flipped the game, getting a lifeline goal from sophomore Jeromey Rancourt (Lewiston, Maine), and then strikes from juniors Myles Abbate (Norwell Mass.) and Marcus Seidl in the third for the win.
“We’ve scheduled what we believe will be some good tests for us out of conference, so those will be the ultimate measuring sticks for us,” said Plymouth State coach Craig Russell (Northfield, Vt.).
The Panthers couldn’t make it a weekend sweep, falling one night later to a good Babson team, 2-1. Giving up two power-play goals in the third period stings, but they showed they can compete with the region’s better teams.
Who secured opening-weekend hardware?
Curry and Nichols. While both teams still have to prove they can be contenders in a top-heavy Commonwealth Coast Conference, they’ll celebrate the respective tournaments they won on opening weekend.
Curry scored four times in the second period -- with junior Mark Zhukov accounting for two -- and dispatched UMass Boston in the final of the Curry College Tournament in Canton, Mass., on Saturday, 5-3.
That followed a 1-0 semifinal win against Stonehill. Goalie Reid Cooper, a transfer who played three seasons at Division 1 Robert Morris, stopped 38 of 41 shots.
Meanwhile, Nichols claimed the Worcester Mayor’s Cup, outlasting Anna Maria in a shootout after their final ended in a 3-3 tie. Second-year coach Mike Parnell has 80 percent of his players back from last season, which consisted of just four games.
"Some of our best players are seniors and they're really hungry," he said.
Whose opening-night goal will make the history books?
The one scored by Hunter Phillips (Quincy, Mass.) in Rivier’s 5-4 win over Southern New Hampshire at Conway Arena in Nashua, N.H.
The first-ever goal for the first-year independent program cut a 2-0 deficit to 2-1 in the second period and set the foundation for an eventual wild comeback from a three-goal deficit.
Phillips, a Walpole Express product, joined the fledgling program at River after Becker discontinued its team.
What games are we most looking forward to this weekend?
A home-and-home series between CCC contenders Endicott and Salve Regina should be fun. They'll play Friday night at Portsmouth Abbey in Rhode Island and on Saturday afternoon at Bourque Arena on the Endicott campus.
Defending champ Endicott recorded the 100th win in the program’s short but successful history, making the short trip to Salem State on Friday and taking a 3-0 victory, with standout goalie Conor O’Brien recording his sixth career shutout.
Salve gave powerful Norwich all it could handle on its home ice on Saturday, forcing the game to overtime when senior forward John McLean (North Andover, Mass.) scored the second of his two goals with 90 seconds left in regulation.
But the Cadets responded with an overtime winner and 3-2 win when sophomore defenseman Joe Nagle (Weymouth, Mass.) struck to send the more than 1,300 fans at Kreitzberg Arena home happy.
@MikeZhe603
mzhe@hockeyjournal.com
