Grant-Mentis shines
Has rewritten Merrimack’s record book
When you play on a rebuilding team that graduated 10 players from the previous year, and misses the playoffs, it’s easy to fall under the radar. Yet, it would be a shame to overlook the campaign that Merrimack senior forward Mikyla Grant Mentis turned in this season.
N.E. HOCKEY NOTEBOOK
Grant-Mentis, who hails from Brampton, Ontario, a suburb of Toronto that produced such former Bruin luminaries as Rick Nash and Tyler Seguin, led the Warriors in scoring with 20 goals, 13 assists for 33 points in 33 games. Along the way, the 5-foot-6 skater, who carries a criminology major, established a new program record for career scoring with 56 goals and 61 assists in 137 games.
“Mikyla absolutely had a great season for us. She took over as our lead points producer for our program. She was a huge piece in both the points production and with her leadership in the locker room. She’s terrific and everything just jelled for her. She’s a special player,” said Merrimack coach Erin (Whitten) Hamlen, a former US National Team goaltender and ex-University of New Hampshire standout. “It’s funny, but one of my assistants saw her and really liked her, so when I went up to see her she had the puck on a breakaway and scored. So, that was my first impression of her. We used to joke that she didn’t know what the defensive blue line was until probably midway through her sophomore year and now she is one of our most sound and reliable defensive players, as well.”
Grant-Mentis has received overtures from Team Canada.
“She has the ability to go through an entire team. She already has had some opportunity with the national team so it remains to be seen. We hope her talents shine through and she continues to get an opportunity,” said Hamlen, who also gave a shout out to senior goalie Lea-Kristine Demers (3.09 GAA, .906 SP, 795 saves).
“She held us there and really shut the door on some teams,” said Hamlen about Demers, a Quebec native, who is majoring in integrative biology.
Quiz of the Week
Who holds the NCAA career mark for shorthanded goals? Hint: He’s the proud pop of a current Beanpot skater. Answer below.
Working overtime
They were celebrating from Manchester, New Hampshire, to her hometown of White Bear Lake, Minnesota, Saturday night after Saint Anselm junior forward Madison Sprague tipped home a point blast by junior defenseman Kathleen LeFebre of Methuen and end women’s college hockey’s longest game as the Hawks defeated Franklin Pierce, 2-1, in five overtimes. The game lasted at 147:24, erasing the old standard of 144:32 (also 5OT) between RPI and Quinnipiac in 2010. Junior forward Katy Meehan of Quincy, who tied the game early in the third period, jump-started the winning play with a pass across to LeFebre.
Franklin Pierce sophomore goaltender Emma Ostrander of Westboro broke her own single-game saves record by more than 20 when she turned aside 79 of 81 shots, just 10 shy of the NCAA record. The Ravens lone goal came off the stick of freshman forward Katelyn Brightbill in the first period. While the Ravens season ended, the program’s 100points club increased earlier when Billerica native Nicole Amato (55-46-101) and fellow junior Haley Parker (43-57100) of Londonderry, New Hampshire, reached the mark.
Saint Anselm’s reward? They had to face Long Island for the New England Women’s Hockey alliance (NEWHA) playoff title Sunday evening night on little rest. The NEWHA moved the start of the championship back from 4 to 6 p.,m., to provide a modicum of assistance.
Farewell tour
Hockey East Commissioner Joe Bertagna was recognized this week in brief pregame ceremonies at Northeastern, where he was presented with a hockey jersey, and at Boston University, where he received a framed photo of his playing days among other mementos.
“Kodak invented color photography the next year,” quipped Bertagna. “Actually, BU beat me in the regular season and in the (Boston) Garden. I think in my whole career I had a win and a tie against them and I allowed nine goals to do it!”
Legendary BU coach Jack Parker said, “I advocated to our (athletic directors) that when we had an opening, we should get the best guy and we should steal Joe (Bertagna) from the ECAC, and we did. I don’t think anyone aside from Lou Lamoriello has done more for this league.”
Slapshots
It going to be close in Vermont senior Stefanos Lekkas’ quest to catch Bruins legend Tim Thomas as the career saves leader at UVM. Thomas holds the mark at 3,950 and Lekkas has 3,816 with three games left against NU (twice) and at UMass. … Do I know you? Amherst senior Patrick Daly of Hamilton had 2-1-3 in a recent sweep over Connecticut College and Tufts. The same weekend saw Colby senior Paddy Daley of Sudbury scored his second goal in an many weeks.
Norwich hockey programs posted identical 9-0 wins on the same night as the men clobbered Castleton and the women beat Salem State. Sophomores Brett Ouderkirk (1-3-4) and Gabrield Chicoine (0-4-4) had big nights while senior Tom Aubrun extended his NCAA Div. 3 record consecutive shutout minutes to 452:31 with his seventh straight shutout and 11th this season. The women were led by 3-time NEHC Player of the Year Amanda Conway (1-3-4), a senior from Methuen, and Julia Masotta (1-3-4), a freshman from Tewksbury. … Middlebury senior forward Owen Powers had 1-3-4 in win over Hamilton. … Southern Maine freshman Maddy Young scored at 6:05 of the third OT to edge UMassBoston, 2-1, in the NEHC quarterfinals. Huskies senior Whitney Padgett had 50 stops.
Quiz answer
Michigan’s John Madden (father of NU’s Tyler) had 23 shorties from 1994-97.