By Warren Kozireski —
27 teams who call New York State home play college hockey at the NCAA level, but only a select few have earned an “A” at the halfway mark of the 2021-22 campaign.
A
Cornell—the Big Red entered the break with a 9-1-1 record. Their only loss was a one-goal affair at Harvard, but their only tie was at Clarkson where they gave up a four-goal third period lead in the final game of the first half. We will see if that heartbreak carries over into January for the ninth ranked team. Junior forward Matt Steinburg leads the nation with 1.63 points per game with senior Max Andreev right behind in fourth with 1.45.
Geneseo—ranked number one in the country for most of the first half, the 11-1-1 Knights lost their last game of the first half to Elmira to drop to second in the latest poll. Freshman Peter Morgan has the early lead for SUNYAC Rookie of the Year with 10 goals and 10 assists in 13 games to lead the team in points. Junior transfer Justin Cmunt has 11 goals and junior defenseman Alex Wilkins 10 assists.
Utica—at 9-2-0 overall and a perfect 7-0-0 in conference, the third ranked Pioneers are outscoring their opponents 60-17. They boast of three players tied for second in the conference in points in Regen Cavanaugh, Brandon Osmundson and John Moncovich.
B
Hobart—the fifth ranked Statesmen are 8-2-1 overall and atop the NEHC standings with a 5-0-1 record and both losses were one-goal affairs. Outscoring their opponents 62-23 with a balanced attack led by Aaron Maguyon, who is tied for second in the conference with nine goals.
Clarkson—ranked the equivalent of 24th in the nation at the break, the 9-6-3 Golden Knights have been a streaky team. Only three home games in January where they have lost only once this season, so will need to find answers on the road. Goaltender Ethan Haider is top five in minutes and at least top-17 in the nation in goals against and save percentage.
Canisius-a 9-8-2 overall record and 6-5-1 in conference play doesn’t look all that impressive on paper, but puts the Golden Griffins in second place in the tight Atlantic Conference. Junior forward Keaton Matrodonato already has set career highs in goals, assists and points and is tied for 15th nationally in the latter.
Cortland—for the first time in recent memory, the Red Dragons find themselves in a playoff spot at the break with 5-2-1 conference record and in second place in SUNYAC. A tie over then-number one nationally Geneseo plus wins over then-nationally ranked Hobart and a handful of one-goal losses built their confidence, but a four-game road stretch to ed the regular season will make things interesting.
Elmira—Shawn Kennedy, Janis Vizbelis and Chance Gorman lead the offense combining for 53 points for the 9-3-1, 3-2-1 Soaring Eagles. They hope a 4-1 December launches then into a strong second half.
Army—a rough 0-5-1 start, but has more than righted the ship to even their record to 7-7-2 including a three-game winning streak to end the first half. Sitting comfortably in third place in Atlantic Hockey one point out of second behind senior forward Colin Bilek, who led the team in scoring on his way to a career-best season.
RIT—the Tigers stumbled into the pause losing two on home ice to Army t end their four-game winning streak, but only dropped int fourth place in Atlantic Hockey. Senior Will Calverly is tied for 11th in the country with 11 goals while freshman Carter Wilkie is making a bid for the conference All-Rookie team with 13 points. Head coach Wayne Wilson won his 400th game in late November.
Plattsburgh—earning at least one point in six of their last seven games provides good momentum heading into the second half for the 5-2-1in-conference Cardinals.
Brockport—a 5-3 conference first half has the Golden Eagles in fourth place in SUNYAC and they’ve done it largely through defense and goaltending as UMass-Boston transfer Nolan Egbert (North Massapequa) is second in the conference in goals against and save percentage. Defenseman Ryan Romeo (Fairport) lead the league in points and assists.
Hamilton—second place in NESCAC is a good start, albeit only four games into their league schedule. Junior goaltender Sean Storr leads the conference in goals against with 1.84.
Manhattanville—had a four game early-season winning streak, but only 3-2-1 since for the fourth place Valiants. Looking to finish strong with five of their final seven regular season games on home ice. Junior Niko Happo tied for fifth in the UCHC in points (17) and is tied for the lead in assists (13) at the break.
C
Oswego—the Lakers are in an unfamiliar fifth place in SUNYAC at the halfway mark, but are riding a five-game winning streak and are an impressive 6-1-1 on the road overall. Junior Steven Kozikoski (Liverpool) stands third in the conference with a 1.90 goals against average.
Skidmore—6-4-1 overall and 3-3-1 in conference and tied for fourth in NEHC. A 4-1 record since Thanksgiving after a so-so start gives them promise. Everett Wardle (Hewlett) and Kaeden Patrick are pacing the scoring with 12 points each.
RPI—4-4-0 in ECAC action has the Engineers tied for fifth, but allowing a conference-worst 57 goals. Senior Turre Linden has already tied his career high with a second on the team six goals and is tops with 17 points.
St. Lawrence—tied with RPI in fifth, the Saints have allowed the second-most goals in the conference and ended a four-game skid with a win in their final game in December. Need to win their games against the conference bottom-feeders to move up and host at least a first-round playoff series.
Canton—solid on home ice with two of their three wins and a tie for the 3-3-1 Roos. Had their Thanksgiving tournament cancelled, so a small snapshot. Need to find more scoring with only 18 goals over seven games.
D
Colgate—the first half ended with three consecutive road losses putting the Red Raiders in eighth place with nine points, but a 5-5 non-conference record bodes well for the second half. They are having no problem scoring goals with a second-best in the conference 56 led by junior Colton Young’s 10.
Union—a beat behind Colgate with eight points, the Dutchmen are a respectable 4-3-2 since the first of November after a brutal start. They are getting balanced scoring from several lines.
Nazareth—light years ahead of the winless abbreviated 2020-21 season, the 3-4-0 Golden Flyers need a win over a quality opponent—their opponents in their three wins (Lebanon Valley, Arcadia, Kings) have a combined three wins between them.
Niagara—the Purple Eagles haven’t won a non-conference game all season, but are seventh in Atlantic Hockey at the break. Need to find more offense in the second half with only 30 goals scored in 16 games.
Buffalo State—dropping their last five games before finals, the Bengals still sit tied for the last playoff spot due to the lower teams in the SUNYAC. Senior Andrew Logar (Niagara Falls) is tied for the team lead with a career-best five goals.
Fredonia—with one tie and four losses over the final five games before the break, the Blue Devils are tied with the Bengals for the last playoff spot with six points. Sophomore David Sudbrink is the only player with ten or more points.
F
Morrisville—one conference win and allowing twice as many goals as you score is not a good recipe and the Mustangs are out of the playoffs at midterm, but only by two points. It doesn’t get any easier with games against second-ranked Geneseo and receiving votes Brockport in their first conference games of the second half.
Potsdam—averaging one goal per game, and even fewer in conference tilts—has the Bears with only one win in their first 11 games this season and 0-8 in SUNYAC and in last place six points out of the postseason and three teams to leapfrog. Oh, and they have also allowed a league-worst 35 goals in those eight losses.
