D-III Men’s Weekend in Review: Aurora & St. Norbert shine, Endicott and Elmira make statements!

Another week of hockey passed us by and it was our most surprising week in terms of results and some upsets/landslide scores…

We saw some teams really show us that they’re true contenders and have passed the eye and ability tests. Let’s get into this week’s weekend in review for Men’s D-III hockey.

#11 Aurora sweeps #2 Adrian: 4-1 & 4-2

The Aurora University Spartans (6-0-0) find themselves in a position I think even they would be surprised if you told them they’d be in this spot after week three of the season. They sit atop the NCHA tied with St. Norbert, but their wins heavily outweigh the Green Knights, the four-league wins include a pair of wins over #2 Adrian on the road…

Aurora defeated a ranked UW-Stevens Point team and a strong Augsburg squad during opening weekend in the Key City Classic (hosted by Univ. of Dubuque), but the wins over the Bulldogs solidified that they’re true contenders.

In game one, Aurora got on the board first (Jakson Kirk, 8:31) and led 1-0 after the 1st period. The Bulldogs tied it late in the 2nd period, it was on the powerplay (Ian Amsbaugh – 16:08), Amsbaugh continued his red-hot start to the season.

Aurora would then take over in the final period of play, they’d score a trio of goals including an empty-netter on the powerplay to seal the deal (Landry Schmuck – 2:26 & 14:32, Jakson Kirk – 18:00). Schmuck has tallied seven points through six games.

Goaltender JaCob Mucitelli had a stellar night, making 30 saves in the victory. Dershahn Stewart made 34 in the loss.

In game two, the story was JaCob Mucitelli once again, he made 39 saves on 41 shots, only allowing two goals. Stewart had a tougher day, making 18 saves on 21 shots in the loss.

Both teams got on the board in the 1st period, then Aurora scored a pair including a powerplay goal in the 2nd period. Following this, both teams added a goal (empty net goal for AU) which ended the game at a score of 4-2, giving the Spartans a pair of signature wins.

Aurora travels to the undefeated Green Knights of St. Norbert (7-0-0) next weekend for a pair of massive NCHA games to decide the current 1st place in the league.

Endicott’s statement sweep of #14 UNE: 4-3 OT & 8-1 

Endicott’s an interesting team this year, they lost on opening night in overtime to Southern Maine, then split with ranked Curry, and dominated ranked Univ. New England… The team has eight Division I transfers, a bold method as we’ve seen it have mixed results over the years, but it seems to be working early on the Gulls.

In game one, the more competitive of the two which was at UNE, the Gulls got it done in overtime. Fun fact, three of the Gulls’ five games have gone to overtime, they’re 2-1-0 in these games.

This game was a wild one, both teams knotted one in the opening period, Endicott’s was on the powerplay. In the middle frame, Endicott’s Ty Gaulin scored the first two goals, taking a 3-1 lead (3:19 & 12:38 PP).

UNE would come right back, scoring under a minute from the Gulls’ third goal, (Dominic Murphy – 13:17) and then in the final seconds of the period, the Nor’Easters’ Anthony Sciucco scored shorthanded at 19:56 to tie it up heading to the final period of play.

The third would remain scoreless, we headed to overtime tied 3-3, until Andrew Kurapov scored the winner at 2:26 into the 3v3 OT period, giving the Gulls the victory.

Game two in Beverly, MA was less eventful, the Gulls rolled, winning 8-1. They led 3-1 after the 1st period, they scored two goals in 12 seconds during that period. They’d add four more in the 2nd to lead 7-1, then score midway through the 3rd period and win the game by a landslide score of 8-1.

Endicott’s got a series up next with Johnson & Wales, expect the Gulls to sweep and continue their excellent start. 

Elmira finds itself, sweeping #7 Skidmore 3-2 OT & 5-1

Elmira’s a team that needed a weekend like the one they just had after a rough start to the season. Granted, it was an exhibition game, Elmira fell to the Eastern Hockey League All-Stars (EHL) by a score of 3-1, then lost to Nazareth on opening night (who would then fall to Utica 11-4 the next weekend), and tied with Oswego 0-0.

Since then, the Soaring Eagles are a perfect 4-0-0, sweeping Southern Maine on the road and defending home-ice vs #7 Skidmore, sweeping them 3-2 & 5-1. The team lost a lot from last season, it’ll be interesting to see how they fare in a few weeks against #1 Hobart in their series on the road.

In game one with the Thoroughbreds, Elmira’s Brody Haynes made 33 saves in the victory, leading the way. Ryan Reifler got the scoring started, scoring their first of two powerplay goals at 14:21 of the period. We’d head to the 2nd period with Elmira up 1-0.

Skidmore scored the lone 2nd period goal, Evan Brown a rapid 27 seconds in on the powerplay, tying the game, this would remain until the 3rd period.

Elmira would score two in this period, Nathan Young at 3:28 & Cole Tucker at 16:47 on the PP to seal it for the Soaring Eagles in the first game.

In game two, Haynes played just as well, making 30 saves in the victory, Skidmore went through two goalies, both making nine saves in the loss.

Elmira for the most part controlled this game, scoring two in the first, then two in the 2nd, they led 4-0 entering the 3rd period. Skidmore added a goal late in the 3rd (14:40) then Elmira answered at 17:46 to cap off the 5-1 victory.

St. Norbert continues to roll

St. Norbert had a trio of wins this week to move to a perfect 7-0-0 on the season, prepping for their two-game homestead vs 6-0-0 Aurora next weekend. Two of the Green Knights wins were NCHA wins vs Marian, while their highlight win was on Tuesday night versus Head Coach Tim Coghlin’s alumnus, ranked UW-Stevens Point, a 6-2 victory.

The biggest highlight of this game was the first 9:37 of the game, friend of the DIIIHockeyNews Podcast Liam Fraser scored a hat-trick, scoring at 00:51, 06:50, & on the powerplay at 09:37…

The Green Knights led 4-0 after the 1st period, the Pointers would add a pair of goals in the 2nd, but a few issued chances led to a Norbert late in the 2nd period (19:30) by Calvin Hanson, giving SNC a commanding 5-2 lead after two periods. Norbert capped it off with a powerplay goal in the 3rd at 6:59.

St. Norbert is loaded and it’s showing early, they’re poised for another National Championship under Head Coach Tim Coghlin who’s got five to his name.