Nichols College coach Parker Burgess made a prediction on the eve of the season: As the Commonwealth Coast Conference has gotten collectively better, and the schedule has increased the number of head-to-head match-ups, the contending teams in the league were going to flat-out beat each other up.
And that’s pretty much been the case.
The league is coming off its watershed season, sending three teams (Salve Regina, Nichols and the University of New England) to the 12-team NCAA tournament, where Salve advanced to the championship game, losing to St. Norbert (Wis.), 3-2, in overtime.
With talented Endicott poised to rejoin the fray, and improved Curry looking to elbow its way into the top four, there’s not much room to maneuver in the top tier.
“There’s no easy games,” said Burgess. “Every team got better.”
As league teams prepare for a weekend of out-of-conference play before breaking for the holidays, everybody is still looking up at Salve (8-1-1), which after getting shut out on opening night by UNE has not lost a game.
Goalie Blake Wojtala (.933 save percentage) has kept the Seahawks in every game, while sophomore forward Danny Eruzione (Winthrop, Mass.) leads the team in scoring (5-9-14).
Defending CCC champion Nichols (6-4) sits only a half game back in the standings after splitting a weekend series with Endicott -- each winning handily on home ice -- and getting edged by Salve, 3-2, on Saturday.
After leading the Bison with 16 goals last year, senior Vincent Crivello has already dished out a team-high 12 assists. Senior defensemen Ben Campbell, TJ Roche and Ian Spencer have held the fort as the team settles on a No. 1 goalie.
“They’ve been our best three defensemen for the last three years, since they were freshmen,” noted Burgess.
UNE (4.90 goals) and Endicott (4.82 goals) both rank among the top-five teams in Division 3 in scoring. Former Concannon Award winner Brady Fleurent (Biddeford, Maine) is off to a strong start in his senior year for the Nor’easters (8-14-22), while senior Tommy Besinger (Milford, Mass.) of Endicott ranks second in the nation with 17 assists.
But both of those teams have already been clipped three times in conference play to fall off the early pace. Just a half-step back of them is Curry, which needs to tighten things up defensively if it wants to displace one of those teams in the top four.
It all adds up to an exciting second impression for a league that left its mark a year ago.
“Salve’s the defending runner-up in the nation,” said Burgess. “UNE scores an absolute ton of goals. Endicott has (several) Division 1 transfers. Curry got a lot better. They’re all good teams and they’re all well-coached.”
Team of the Week
Middlebury
Weekend sweeps in the NESCAC aren’t too common, but the Panthers have an early one to their name after beating Conn. College (4-2) and Tufts (6-2) in their first games at Kenyon Arena. Rookie goalie Adam Wisco earned his first two wins by stopping 60 of 64 shots.
Player of the Week
Garrison Sanipass, sr., F, UMass-Boston
The Beacons have rolled out to a 10-1 start and own first place in the NEHC. Sanipass scored two goals in Friday’s 4-2 win over No. 12 Hobart, then set up two more as linemate Ethan Nitkin had a hat trick and UMB took down Skidmore, 6-3, on Saturday. Sanipass finished with a plus-7 rating on the weekend.
Games to Watch
Endicott at Plymouth State
Two of the top offensive teams in the nation face off in a non-conference game at Hanaway Rink on Thursday night. The Panthers (8-0-1) are setting the pace in the MASCAC, leading all of Division 3 in scoring (5.56 goals) and are one of just two unbeaten teams in the country. Endicott is 6-3-1.
Meanwhile, fifth-ranked Salve gets a weekend-long measuring stick in a two-game series at No. 7 Adrian (Mich.).
