Our very own Quint Kessenich preaches “Tuesday is for the hunter” and that statement couldn’t have been more accurate this week as many favorites could not pull out the win. Vermont, St. Joseph’s, and Hofstra were all multi-goal favorites according to Vegas, yet all three teams lost outright.
It was the specialists who shined brightest in these upsets; Dartmouth’s Daniel Hincks had a career-high 20 saves in their upset over Vermont, and Binghamton’s Matthew Desouza dominated the faceoff going 19-22 (86%). Big time players step up when it matters most.
Co-Players of the Midweek
Daniel Hincks: (Dartmouth) 20 saves, 7 goals against, 74% save percentage
Matthew Desouza: (Binghamton) 19-22 faceoffs, 86% faceoff percentage
Vermont (7) – Dartmouth (8)
Dartmouth has never lost a home game to Vermont, and that did not change Tuesday. The Big Green won their third straight game of the season following road wins against Bryant and Siena. Dartmouth runs a slow and methodical offense while relying on their goalie to make big-time saves.
Tuesday was no different.
Let’s start with the defense. Daniel Hincks has been a brick wall in cage, and the senior goalie has the best save percentage in the country (66%) and ranks 4th in the country averaging 16 saves per game. The defense around Hincks has been nothing short of impressive averaging 10.75 caused turnovers per game which ranks them 9th in the country. Hincks made a career-high 20 saves and finished with a 74% save percentage. The senior goalie was the difference maker on Tuesday afternoon.
On the other side of the field, the Big Green slowed the pace down, averaging 52.3 seconds per possession. It was a defensive slugfest, and they only needed 8 goals to win. George Prince scored 3 goals and an assist while Peter Lapina added a goal and 2 assists himself.
Saint Joseph’s (17) – Drexel (18)
Saint Joseph’s took a 5 goal lead into the 2nd quarter, but the Dragons were unfazed. It was a back-and-forth affair, but Ryan Genord scored the game-winner with 67 seconds left to clinch the game for Drexel. Jack Mulcahy led Drexel’s comeback on a nine point day (4G, 5A), and Sean Donnely (3G, 3A) played a major role in the victory.
This loss is a real head scratcher for the Hawks because Zach Cole finished 27/36 at the faceoff X. You can’t ask for much better from your FOGO, and the All-American delivered. Netminder Tucker Almany let in some soft goals, and finished with a 40% save percentage. Saint Joseph’s will look to rebound on Saturday against Towson.
Binghamton (12) – Hofstra (6)
It’s very simple; you can’t win a game if you don’t have the ball, and you need to win faceoffs to gain possession. Hofstra had no answer for Binghamton’s Matthew Desouza, who won 86% of faceoffs. Desouza’s performance was one of the most impressive from Tuesday’s slate, and it was good enough to earn co-player of the day. Nine players scored goals for the Bearcats, but senior Kevin Winkoff led the team with three points (2G, 1A). Binghamton will look to build off this win against Fairfield on Saturday.
Hofstra is still searching for an identity in the post Ryan Tierney era. Their loss to Binghamton was their first in program history. This is a bad loss, and the Pride will need to conduct some soul searching before they begin conference play in the CAA. Hofstra hosts Manhattan this weekend.
Albany (9) – UMass (12)
Three days after suffering a heartbreaking overtime loss to Yale, Umass bounced back at home against Albany. UMass displayed their depth of scoring with eight different players scoring a goal. Shane O’Leary has burst onto the scene during his sophomore campaign; he played in only one game as a freshman, and now has ten points through five games. Fellow sophomore Caleb Hammett has been impressive himself, and he finished 16-21 (76%) on faceoffs. UMass is 2-3, but suffered one-goal losses to Army and Yale. Don’t sleep on UMass.
Albany is 1-3 and the schedule doesn’t get easier; the Great Danes will travel to College Park this weekend to challenge No.1 Maryland. They also have games against Syracuse, Yale, and Penn down the road. Albany jumped out to an early 2-0 lead, but the Minutemen responded with five straight goals of their own. This just doesn’t feel like a typical Scott Marr team, and there are more questions than answers at this point in the season.