The first six games of the Division III men’s NCAA tournament are in the books.
The 38-team tournament is now down to 32, with the second round being played on Saturday, May 14. Let’s break down today’s action.
HUGE BURST LIFTS SEWANEE
Staring down a one-goal deficit with 3:36 left in the first quarter, Sewanee was in need of a lift. Leave it to Will Wyckoff to carry the team.
Wyckoff scored five of his six goals during a game-changing 10-goal run that turned the tide and carried Sewanee to an 18-9 win over Benedictine (Ill.). Wyckoff’s fifth goal of the run made the score 11-3, and Ryan Hofstetter followed less than a minute later for another, which proved to be the final goal in the spurt.
Wyckoff and Hofstetter tied for the team lead with seven points. Davis Gillenwater provided three goals, and Carlton Ward went 19-for-25 on faceoffs.
Sewanee took a ridiculous 71 shots in the game and will face Christopher Newport in the second round.
ALBION LEADS WIRE-TO-WIRE
Only one goal was scored by either team in the first quarter, perhaps a sign that a close game was incoming. Only a total of four goals were scored in the first half.
But Albion ramped it up in the second half, and the Brits led wire-to-wire in an 11-5 win over Dubuque. Jace Conley had four goals and two assists, Ethan Rottell had three assists and both Sam Puzevic and Timmy Salinas scored twice. Jack Gogonis made 11 saves.
Conley assisted Grant Chaffee for the only goal of the opening 15 minutes, and Conley’s 86th goal of the season put the Brits up 3-0. Giovanni Silva netted Dubuque’s first goal of the game with 2:47 left in the first half.
Albion scored the first four tallies of the second half for a 7-1 lead. Next up for the Brits is defending national champion RIT.
STEVENS BREAKS IT OPEN
Mired in a back-and-forth first 20 minutes, Stevens was in total control by the end of the third quarter. The Ducks scored eight of nine goals in a 15-minute span to take down SUNY Maritime 16-8.
Up 5-4 after Maritime scored three straight to close the gap, Stevens scored the next five — two from Jack Savarese and one each from Mikey Whiteside, Russell Eberding and Ryan Caplis.
John Killcommons broke the spurt for Maritime, putting his side down 10-5, but Stevens responded with three more — two from Michael Burns and one more from Whiteside.
Up 13-5, Stevens coasted to victory. The Ducks play Dickinson in the second round.