Three Stars (Week 9)

Austin Smit

First Star: Austin Smith (Colgate)
This guy just won't stop, huh? After his performance this weekend, Smith has registered a point in 15 of his 16 games, and has scored a goal in 12 of those games (and 6 multi-goal performances). This weekend, he picked up five more points with three goals and three assists. On Friday night, Clarkson kept Smith quiet for 56 minutes and were tied with the Raiders. But, the couldn't contain the Dallas, Texas native for long as Smith gave Colgate the lead with a goal, and then sealed the deal with an empty netter with eight seconds left in regulation. The following night, Smith assisted on two first period goals and a third period goal. He also added to his nation lead in short-handed goals when he put the puck past SLU goaltender Matt Weninger while down a man. Smith now has five shorties, which is three more than any other player in the country. "The Sheriff" (do you guys like that nickname?) now leads all of college hockey with 18 goals and 27 assists in just 16 games.

Andy Iles

Second Star: Andy Iles (Cornell)
Here's a trivia question for you: How many goals has Andy Iles allowed at Lynah Rink against a league foes this season? Answer: ZERO. The last time anyone scored against Iles in Ithaca was the first game of the season when Mercyhurst put five past him. This past weekend, both North Country teams could not figure out the Ithaca native. He stopped all 13 shots the Saints threw at him in a 1-0 win, and then stopped 23 shots in a scoreless tie with Paul Karpowich and the Golden Knights. I hope the Big Red offense bought Iles a steak dinner on Sunday. It's not very often that your team scores one goal over a weekend and comes out with three points. Iles is now third in the nation in goals-against average (1.62), 11th in save percentage (.930), and second in shutouts (5).

Third Star: Jack Berger (Princeton)

Jack Berger

Berger was the key for the Tigers this weekend, who picked up three big points at home with a win over RPI and a come-from-behind tie with #9 Union. His four goals on the weekend, were tops in the league. He scored twice against the Engineers in their 5-3 win. After RPI went up 1-0, Berger responded to tie the game, and then secured the victory with an empty netter late in the third. He also assisted on Rob Kleebaum's power-play goal. The following night, Berger and the Tigers were down 3-0 to the Dutchmen heading into the third period. After Andrew Ammon got Princeton on the board early in the period, Berger cut the deficit to one midway though the period. He then dramatically tied the game with 1:14 remaining in regulation to give the Tigers a great tie with Union.

Honorable Mention:
Jeremy Price (Colgate): 2a vs. Clarkson, 1g, 2a vs. SLU
Chris Wagner (Colgate): 2g, 2a vs. SLU
Patrick McNally (Harvard): 3a vs UMass
Antoine Laganiere (Yale): 2g, 2a vs. Brown
Bobby Farnham (Brown): 2g, 1a vs. Brown