As the National Collegiate Development Conference gets ready for another weekend, it’s time to take a deeper look at both what happened last weekend and what to expect as we turn the corner into November. 

Eight of the 13 NCDC teams competed between Thursday and Monday at the Fall Beantown Classic, where seven of the 11 games went beyond 60 minutes. That equals 64 percent of the games, an NCDC record for a showcase. 

Ironically, this came just two weeks after all 11 NCDC games at the Hitmen Classic were decided in 60, none going to overtime or a shootout. 

 

Jersey Hitmen Quickly Rebound From Extra Time Losses

For now, at least, the Jersey Hitmen’s 19-game winning streak from the 2018-19 season is safe as the record winning run in the NCDC. However, they are still on a 16-game point streak, despite taking their first two losses - both of which came in the shootout. They did set the league record for the best winning streak from the start of a season at 13 games. 

The first shootout loss came to the rival Junior Bruins, a 2-1 decision that was the Junior Bruins’ first victory over the Hitmen since Oct. 28, 2018, at last year’s Fall Beantown Classic. That Hitmen loss was the last before they started their 19-game winning streak. 

On Sunday, the Boston Bandits earned their first win over the Hitmen since Dec. 2, 2017. Liam Quinlivan scored the only shootout goal in 30 attempts by both teams. The Bandits were in the last 10-plus-round shootout, back on Nov. 18, 2018, at the Islanders Hockey Club showcase. The Rockets beat them 4-3 after a 13-round shootout. 

After the shootout, the Hitmen posted a 9-5 win over the Islanders Hockey Club, setting their 2019-20 season high for goals in a game. 

 

Ahead: The Hitmen face the Rockets Hockey Club at home, the first two of six games between the New Jersey teams this year. 

 

Junior Bruins Extend Winning Streak To Six Games

The Junior Bruins exit October tied for first place in points with the Hitmen, earning all six of their possible points this past weekend at the Fall Beantown Classic, versus four points in three games for the Hitmen. 

They started with a 2-1 win over the Connecticut Jr. Rangers, with Will Gilson scoring the overtime game-winner. Next came the shootout winner against the Hitmen, secured by shootout goals from recent Yale commit Ian Carpentier and Colin Graf. 

Their fourth straight beyond regulation game came on Sunday, when they defeated the Rockets Hockey Club in overtime, 6-5. The OT winner was league-leading scorer Johnny Mulera’s 16th of the season, keeping him still on pace for nearly one goal per game (16 through 17). 

The Junior Bruins are the second team in the three-year NCDC history to go beyond 60 minutes four games in a row, following the 2017-18 Syracuse Stars (Dec. 2-10). 

 

Ahead: The Junior Bruins face the Rochester Jr. Monarchs for a pair of games at home, remaining at the New England Sports Center this weekend. The Saturday game is the NCDC Free Game Of The Week on HockeyTV. 

 

P.A.L. Jr. Islanders Make It Four Wins In A Row

The resurgent Jr. Islanders - a non-playoff team last year - have pushed themselves into fourth place with a four-game winning streak. The Jr. Islanders are 5-1-1-0 at their home Northwell Health Ice Center now. 

A week after a pair of shutouts against the Rochester Monarchs, the Jr. Islanders defeated the South Shore Kings 3-2 and 4-1. The Jr. Islanders have hit nine wins the fastest in their three NCDC seasons, reaching that mark on Dec. 3, 2017, and Nov. 16, 2018.

Artem Buzoverya has scored seven points in his last three games, equal to his NCDC point total from the entire 2018-19 season. He already has 14 points on this season. 

 

Ahead: The Jr. Islanders take on the Rockets Hockey Club to give their team a three-game weekend following two at the Hitmen. Faceoff is 2:30 p.m. Sunday. Next Wednesday, they face the Connecticut Jr. Rangers in a rare midweek matinee, dropping the puck at 1 p.m. 

 

Jr. Rangers Remain Unbeaten In Regulation Through Last 12

After the Jr. Rangers’ shootout loss to the Junior Bruins on Thursday, they were able to pick up wins against the Bandits (5-2) and the Islanders Hockey Club (3-2 OT). The Rangers have not tasted defeat after just 60 minutes since Sept. 20, a 5-2 loss to the South Shore Kings at the BJB Shootout. The Rangers had already set their NCDC record points streak at nine and are just adding gravy as they continue to push against the top pair of teams. 

 

Ahead: The Jr. Rangers make the trek north for a Friday-Saturday set against the host New Hampshire Jr. Monarchs. The Rangers defeated the Monarchs 5-2 on Oct. 11 at the Hitmen Classic in their only meeting this year. The Monarchs are 3-2 all-time against the Rangers and are coming off a three-game winning streak themselves. 

 

New Hampshire Earns Third Straight ‘W’ In Only Beantown Game

The Monarchs won their third straight game on Saturday, defeating the Rockets Hockey Club 5-2 in their one-game stint at the Fall Beantown Classic. They also had prior wins against the South Shore Kings and Twin City Thunder. 

The last time the Monarchs won three straight against different opponents was their 3-0 run at the 2019 South Shore Kings Showcase. There, they swept the Jr. Rangers, the Rochester Monarchs and the Rockets from Feb. 14-16 as part of a late-season seven-game winning streak. 

 

Thunder Return To Top Six After Weekend Sweep 

The Twin City Thunder had started strong out of the gate with a 4-1 run to start their NCDC existence, but beginning with a Sept. 28 loss at their home opener to South Shore, they ran into an 0-4-1 stretch. This past weekend, they earned a single OT win against the Islanders Hockey Club at the Beantown Classic followed by a sweep in Rochester, during which they did yield one OT point to the host Monarchs, that team’s first of the season. Their 3-0 run and 7-5-1-0 overall record were good enough to put them into sixth place heading into November. 

 

Ahead: The Thunder have a single-game rematch on Saturday against the Islanders Hockey Club on their turf, which is Lawler Arena, also home to NCAA Division 1 Merrimack College.

 

Cyclones Come Up With Three Points For Second Weekend 

The Northern Cyclones have set a pattern that they hope to break out of. They like winning their first game of a weekend - who wouldn’t - but for the second weekend in a row, they lost in a beyond-regulation game, this time a 5-4 OT loss to Utica. A week earlier, the Rockets Hockey Club had beaten them in the second game of that matchup, 4-3, in the shootout. 

On the bright side, the Cyclones have their second four-game points streak in a row, but the first - from Sept. 21 to Oct. 4 - was a 4-0 run.  

 

Ahead: The Cyclones are home Friday against South Shore. Two days later, they will travel the short distance along the Merrimack River to the college of the same name to face the Islanders Hockey Club on Sunday.  

 

Bandits Hoping To Build Off Strong Beantown Classic

That 15-round shootout win, ended gallantly by Liam Quinlivan, seemed to gas up the Bandits’ getaway car, as they posted a 9-2 win the next day to end the entire Beantown Classic. That came 16 days after they put up a 10-spot. Along with a 2-1 run at the Beantown, they have earned points in five of their last six games (3-1-1-1), a season best for as many contests. 

 

Ahead: The Bandits bring in the Utica Jr. Comets for a weekend set at Bridgewater Ice Arena. The Comets (formerly the Syracuse Jr. Stars) went 3-1 in their four meetings against the Bandits last year