D-III Men’s Week Five in Review: It’s tournament season!

It’s the holiday season, which means it’s tournament season! These tournaments typically offer us a mix of east/west action on both the men’s and women’s side, which adds a lot of variety and fun in seeing new/rare matchups. We had seven tournaments in play this weekend for Men’s DIII.

Utica Thanksgiving Showcase (Hosted by Utica University)

1. #3 Utica
2. Stevenson
3. Univ. New England
4. Oswego

Utica University hosts one of the best tournaments every year, bringing in three solid teams from different leagues and occasionally a team from out west. This year, they brought in a popular local team – Oswego State (SUNYAC), a former UCHC rival – Stevenson University (MAC), and their NCAA tournament rival – University of New England (CNE).

Read our full recap of the game one thriller between Utica & UNE that ended in a 6-5 Utica victory here!

In round one, Oswego & Stevenson came down to the wire, Stevenson held a 3-1 lead with 13 minutes left. The Lakers would tie it up, scoring a pair of goals was Matt McQuade (10:06 & 15:41) to send the game to overtime.

Stevenson’s Blake Benson would come from the right side with just under ten seconds left in the game and score a goal past the goaltender Brandon Milberg with a slim 0.3 seconds remaining in the game, sending the Mustangs to the championship game.

Read our full recap of the game one thriller between Utica & UNE that ended in a 6-5 Utica victory here!

In the 3rd place game, UNE came out flying vs Oswego, taking a 2-0 lead in less than five minutes. However, the Lakers came flying back, scoring four unanswered goals, three of them in the first period, which included a powerplay and shorthanded goal. The last goal of the period came with under two seconds left by Daniel Colabufo to give the Lakers a 3-2 lead after 1.

Colabufo added the lone 2nd period goal in the last minute (19:39.4), but UNE scored two goals to tie it up in the 3rd period, sending the game to overtime. In overtime, both goalies stood tall, no goals were allowed and the game ended in a regulation tie, but in the tournament seeding shootout, UNE won 3-1, taking 3rd place.

Read the full, in-depth recap of the 6-1 championship game victory by Utica over Stevenson, by Scott Kinville of the CNYHockeyReport.com. This article includes interviews with HC Gary Heenan, Brian Scoville, Bryan Landsberger, & Andrew Della Rovere.

LayerEight Shootout (Hosted by Middlebury)

1. Middlebury
2. Norwich
3. Plattsburgh
4. Marian

The LayerEight Shootout has been a fun event over the years, changing sponsors, but still keeping a solid group of teams. This year, Middlebury hosted the event, the tournament contained the partner Plattsburgh (SUNYAC), Vermont-rival Middlebury (NESCAC), & a west team from Fond du Lac, Wis. – Marian University (NCHA).

Two programs that’ve had struggling starts to their season compared to their usual standards, Norwich and Plattsburgh. The Cadets shutout the Cardinals 1-0, sending Norwich to the title game. Goaltender Sami Molu made 30 saves in the shutout win.

Marian, the wildcard out west, fell to Middlebury by a score of 6-2.

In the 3rd place game, the Cardinals got the job done as Marian’s goaltending woes continue, losing their starter to injury. Plattsburgh defeated Marian 5-3, goaltender Jacob Hearne made 35 saves in the victory.  Both Marian keepers saw action in game one and two.

In the championship, Middlebury shutout Norwich 2-0, a big pair of wins in the HC Jack Ceglarski era. The Panthers’ Jake Oblak scored late in the 1st period (18:06) which would be the lone goal until they added an empty netter in the final minute of the game. in a very close game, Middlebury takes the title of their home tournament. It’ll return to Plattsburgh next year as the Cardinals/Panthers host every other year.

Skidmore Invitational (Hosted by Skidmore)

1. Lake Forest
2. Fredonia
3. Hamilton
4. #12 Skidmore

The Skidmore Invitational this year featured the host Thoroughbreds (NEHC), Fredonia (SUNYAC), Hamilton (NESCAC), & the Illinois school in Lake Forest (NCHA).

This one was filled with surprising upsets… #12 Skidmore falling 5-4 vs Lake Forest and Fredonia taking down Hamilton 2-1 in the first round.

Interestingly enough, in the Skidmore/LFC game, the Foresters trailed in the shot category, Skidmore outshooting them 36-25.

In the 3rd place game, #12 Skidmore and Hamilton faced off, a game in which Hamilton pulled off another upset, defeating the host Thoroughbreds 5-2, an event in which they likely didn’t expect dropping two games.

In the championship between Lake Forest and Fredonia, a combination no one probably expected to see to say the least, Lake Forest got the commanding shutout victory 4-0. The four goals included a goal a brisk 13 seconds into the game, followed by a second goal five minutes later, then they iced it off in the 3rd period. The Foresters head back to Illinois with a pair of victories and some hardware.

Superior Showdown (Hosted by Univ. Wisconsin-Superior)

1. St. Scholastica
2. UW-Superior
3. Lawrence
4. Dubuque

The Superior Showdown featured the host Yellowjackets (WIAC), St. Scholastica (MIAC), Lawrence (NCHA), & Dubuque (NCHA).

Last year, UW-Superior defeated highly-ranked St. Scholastica in this event, this year, the Saints got revenge.

In the first round, St. Scholastica defeated Dubuque 5-3, while the Yellowjackets shutout Lawrence 3-0.

In the 3rd place game, NCHA foes Lawrence and Dubuque squared off which ended in a 1-1 regulation tie (Lawrence winning the shootout).

In the championship, UW-Superior had a 2-0 lead, scoring at the 7:44 mark of the 1st (Justin Dauphinais), then Chris Ishmael in the 2nd (8:47). The Saints’ would get one back in the 2nd period (Wyatt Wurst, 13:15), then score the tying goal five minutes into the 3rd.

The hero would be the senior Jacob Seitz, scoring in the final three minutes of the game (17:49) to win the Superior Showdown for St. Scholastica.

North Country Tournament (Hosted by SUNY Canton)

1. Tufts
2. Rivier
3. Canton
4. Potsdam

The North Country Tournament featured the two partners Canton (SUNYAC) and Potsdam (SUNYAC), then Rivier (MASCAC) & Tufts (NESCAC).

In round one, Rivier needed overtime to defeat Potsdam, scoring the winner was Nicholas Paolucci at 3:58.

Tufts scored the go-ahead powerplay goal at 11:05 of the 3rd period (Max Resnick), then added an empty netter in the final two minutes to defeat the host Canton 4-2.

In the 3rd place game, the two rivals down the road from each other faced off in Potsdam and Canton. Canton getting the best of the Bears in this non-conference matchup. The Roos came our firing, scoring four 1st period goals to lead 4-0 after 1… They would add a fifth in the 2nd period, then Potsdam scored their lone goal late in the 2nd period at 19:53.9.

In the championship, Tufts would get out to a 3-0 lead after two periods, Trace Norwell scored a pair of goals in the 2nd, tripling the Jumbo’s lead. Rivier would get their lone goal at 12:41 (Jon Tavella), but it wasn’t enough as the Jumbo’s leave Canton with a 4-2-1 record.

Terry Moran Invitational (Hosted by Castleton)

1. Castleton
2. King’s
3. Keene State
4. MCLA

The Terry Moran Invitational featured the host Castleton (NEHC), King’s (MAC), Keene St. (Independent), & MCLA (MASCAC).

This event featured some young programs in terms of years in existence, with Keene St. being in their inaugural season and MCLA their 2nd after stopping hockey after the 2003 season (ECAC East), picking it back up in 2023.

In round one, King’s defeated Keene St. 4-3 in overtime, Denys Arkhypenko scoring the winner at 4:28 of the OT period.

Castleton defeated MCLA 3-1, scoring two goals in the 3rd period including an empty netter to get their first win of the season.

In the 3rd place game, Keene St. defeated MCLA in a 13 goal shootout 8-5… the 3rd period featured NINE goals… scoring a hat trick for MCLA was Christopher Gallaghe.

In the championship, the Spartans got their second win of the season, defeating King’s in another shootout of a game 7-6. Two exciting games to cap off this tournament.

King’s goaltender Ben Williams despite the loss, made 58 saves in the game, while the Castlwton goaltender Josh Ward made 21 in the victory.