Eph Men's Ice Hockey Now Ranked 3rd Nationally
The Ephs defeated Nichols College yesterday 3-1 at Lansing Chapman Rink in their only game of the week and have moved up one spot in the national poll to third. For the first time this season the Ephs have received first place votes (2) in the national poll.
The Ephs are the lone team in the national top 15 without a loss this season.
The Ephs have soared on a balanced offensive attack, splendid goalkeeping and a penalty killing percentage of .889 (32-36). In eight games the Ephs have surrendered but 8 (1.0) goals, while netting 38.
Senior forward Ben Contini and sophomore John Wickman lead the Ephs in points with 13. Contini has scored four goals and assisted on nine, while Wickman has a team-high 10 assists to go with three goals.
Three Ephs are tied for the team-high in goals with six – senior Connor Olvany, Matt Masucci and sophomore Eric Rubino. This trio along with Contini and Wickman gives Kangas five players with at least 10 points. To date eight Ephs have tallied more than one goal.
Junior goalie Ryan Purdy has played all 485 minutes between the pipes and sports a .957 save percentage, stopping 180 of 188 shots. Two of Purdy's seven wins on the year (7-0-1) have been shutouts. While the Ephs average 4.75 goals a game Purdy has held the opposition to one goal a game.
The Ephs will be off the ice from now until Jan. 7 at 7 p.m., when they travel to Amherst to face their archrival the Lord Jeffs.
USCHO.com Division III Men's Poll
Team (First Place) Record Pts Last Week
1 Oswego (11) 12-1-0 287 1
2 St. Norbert ( 7) 11-2-0 281 2
3 Williams ( 2) 7-0-1 263 4
4 Norwich 5-2-1 240 3
5 Bowdoin 6-1-0 213 5
6 Gustavus Adolphus 9-3-1 187 6
7 Adrian 8-2-0 148 7
8 Geneseo 8-3-2 144 9
9 Milwaukee Sch Engineer 9-1-0 132 8
10 Manhattanville 8-3-1 119 10
11 Neumann 7-3-1 108 11
12 Hamline 6-3-1 68 12
12 Utica 9-4-0 68 13
14 Castleton 6-2-0 38 NR
15 St. Thomas 8-5-0 27 NR
Others Receiving Votes: Wisconsin-Superior 18, Amherst 14, Hobart 9, Wisconsin-Eau Claire 9, Plattsburgh 6, Curry 5, Massachusetts-Boston 5, Elmira 4, Massachusetts-Dartmouth 4, Wentworth 1, Wisconsin-Stout 1, Worcester State 1
The USCHO.com Poll is compiled weekly and consists of 20 voters, including 18 coaches of Division III programs and two men's hockey writers. USCHO.com provides in-depth coverage of college hockey.