We are now three weekends into the November season of our LEC round up. As programs get further into their intraconference matchups, we’re beginning to see the scoring and offensive flow take shape for several teams. Based on how this weekend went, every team is coalescing and improving as we approach Thanksgiving tournaments and the winter break.

               Starting off, Plymouth State secured a pair of MASCAC wins over the course of the weekend. -On Thursday night, the Panthers had an emphatic win against Framingham State by a score of 7-1. Ethan Stuckless continued his torrid scoring pace by scoring 4 goals in the contest. Cam Patton added three points, while Eddie Mulligan, Will Redick, and Luca Rea also posted multi-point nights. On Saturday, they traveled to Massachusetts’ north shore to take on Salem State. This was a much closer affair, as the Panthers picked up the game winning goal with nine minutes remaining in the third (Colin Tracy) to pick a 4-3 regulation win. Redick, Patton, and Rea all repeated their multi-point feats in this contest. Continuing the trend from last week, Brandon Shantz allowed 3 goals, posting a save percentage of 85.7%, which may potentially become a problem for them on Tuesday against Trinity.

               As two teams on different tracks the last couple of weeks, New England College visited UMass Boston for a two-game series. On Friday night, UMB would pick up a 4-2 win. UMB got multi-point performances from Jack Mortson and Jazz Krivtsov in the win. On Saturday, UMass Boston tightened up their defense to secure a 3-0 victory. Jude Kurtas had a strong showing with 3 points on the night, and Tyler Bost recorded a 31-save shutout in the contest.

               In yet another two game series, Southern Maine visited Babson for a pair of key games. Friday’s contest was evenly contested, as both teams registered 31 and 30 shots on goal respectively. The first two frames were remarkably even, with Charlie Andriole getting Babson their one goal edge one-minute into the third period to secure a 2-1 victory. Brendan Kennedy was a standout for Babson recording 2 points in the contest. Saturday was a much wilder affair. Babson managed to outshoot Southern Maine 43 to 21 in a game where they were unable to get an edge through the first 40 minutes. Babson’s persistence paid off when Tommy Rooney recorded the game-winning goal early in the third period to secure a 4-3 win. In the loss, Southern Maine got a multi-point night from Zach Desmarais. In the win, Babson got strong scoring games from Joseph Kramer, Danny Cavanagh, and Tommy Rooney.

               UMass Dartmouth got their MASCAC schedule underway this weekend in the same cadence that Plymouth State did. On Thursday night, the Corsairs got their rematch from the 2024 MASCAC semi-final against Fitchburg State. As expected, this was a back-and-forth showdown between two very even rivals; however, it was weighed down by the usual abysmal MASCAC officiating that overloaded the penalty box in the second and third period. Despite the even scoring flow, and the refs deciding this game was about them, the Corsairs picked up a 5-4 Overtime win on a goal from Brennan Pecararo. Collin Patterson paced the field with a hat trick and 4 points in the contest, while Cade Hanley, Tyler Stewart, and Brennen Pecararo offered multi-point contributions to the win. Saturday saw the Corsairs travel to Framingham State. UMass Dartmouth controlled the pace of the game in the opening 40 minutes, and despite Framingham State’s early third period goal, the Corsairs scored two goals in the third to complete the 4-2 victory. Patterson scored 2 more goals on the weekend in this game, with Nolan Wutzke adding two assists as well.

               Finishing up the weekend, Castleton played a pair of games against 12^th ranked Skidmore. On Friday, Skidmore dominated from the moment the clock started enroute to a 7-1 win. Saturday’s contest, however, was a more interesting affair. The shot totals for the rematch were 39-35 in favor of Skidmore. Skidmore led this game 3-1 after two periods, but Castleton rallied their way to draw the game at three 8 minutes into the third frame and managed to exchange blows until Zach Lindewirth put the game out of reach with less than four minutes left for a 5-4 Skidmore victory. Luke Chakrabarti was a revelation for Castleton in the game, recording a hat trick, while getting scoring support from Logan Dapprich and Justin Stairs.

               On the other side of this weekend’s games, it’s clear that every team is improving, and certain teams are further along than others. Plymouth State and UMass Dartmouth are on a collision course for December 5^th, as they’ve defined themselves as the top teams in the MASCAC early in the season, with Ethan Stuckless and Collin Patterson dominating on a nightly basis. Following a slow start, Babson has picked up three straight wins and can compete in every game the rest of the year. Despite their 0-7-1 start, Castleton getting their offense rolling against Skidmore is indicative that if they have a strong showing at the Terry Moran Invitational, they could string together some key NEHC wins on the other side of December. All around, this is going to be an exciting end to 2024 for these teams.