Faceoff Factor

NCAA Weekend Recap: Bear Trapp and Maverick Edition

Andrew Chiappazzi | College/NCAA

Feb 4, 09:38 PM | Hype this story!

The only team that might feel worse than Denver right now are the Patriots.

The Pioneers, meanwhile, lost to one of the surprise teams in college hockey this year. Where in the world did Minnesota State come from? They’ve hovered around the Top 20 Power Rankings here on Faceoff Factor for much of the year – they’ll be back in tomorrow, by the way – and they’ve wasted a few quality teams. Add Denver to the list.

It wasn’t pretty either. 5-1 Friday night, 3-2 Saturday night.

The Mavericks aren’t alone. Three win Alabama-Huntsville beat conference title contender Robert Morris 7-5 Friday night before losing Saturday night in Pittsburgh. Wayne State pulled the same feat up at Bemidji State. Northern Michigan split twice with Michigan.

What the hell’s going on?

The List:
Skater of the Weekend: Bear Trapp, Jr. F, Sacred Heart. Six points in one game will tend to wake up the award givers. The Pioneers torched the Canisius Golden Griffins 7-3 Friday night behind Trapp’s 2-goal, 4-assist performance. The man with the best name in college hockey has 26 points in 22 games for the Pioneers, and while the Pioneers lost the following night, he has them within striking distance of first place RIT in the Atlantic Hockey conference.

Goalie of the Weekend: Beau Erickson, So., Connecticut. This is more of a misery-loves-company award this week. Why? Because Erickson faced more vulcanized rubber in two games than the rest of the Atlantic Hockey conference did all weekend. Connecticut lost 3-1 and 6-0 to Army at West Point, but that’s not what matters.

Erickson faced 92 shots in two games.

That’s absurd. That’s ridiculous. That’s a hell of a lot of pucks! Here’s hoping that the Huskies figure out how to play defense before they play Sacred Heart this weekend, if only for Erickson’s health.