Top Individual Performances (Week 1 MLAX)
| Each week, we will look back at the games that were to see which players had the largest individual performances. I say largest because the contributions that we can measure (from play by play) tend to be things that are easy to count. This includes, goals, shots, assists, turnovers, penalties, etc. We can’t measure a defender who shuts down an opposing player so completely that he doesn’t even touch the ball. Still, it iseresting to be able to identify the players that really filled it up each weekend and give them a shout out here. | |
| For a bit of background, in order to rank single game performances, we needed a way to condense box score statso a single number for each player. In order to do this, we relied on our expected goal values methodology, which assigns a goal value to each type of play depending on how often it leads to a goal in the next 60 seconds. By adding up all the expected goals added for each player, we can get to that single number and these rankings. | |
| We have also tagged each performance with the opponent’s ELO rating. The higher the number, the stronger the opponent. This should help to give some context for each performance. Did the player feast on the dregs of D1 or did they put up these numbers against a quality opponent? | |
Top Single Game Scores of the week |
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#1 – Ryan Tierney (Hofstra) – 8.68 goals added
Feb 13 vs St. John’s Opp ELO: 1319
Talk about an opener. Tierney put up the highest single-game EGA total of the season so far. He pretty much kept Hofstra in this one with 8 goals on 12 shots. And of course, those 8 goals were a career high (and the 11 total points too).
Still, there is something bittersweet about a performance like this coming in a loss. After all, it was the Red Storm that started their season 1-0. Goals
Assists
Shots (OG)
8
3
12 (9)
GBs
FO Won
FO Pct
3
0
N/A
Turnovers
Penalties
Caused TO
5
0
0
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#2 – Chris Gray (North Carolina) – 7.71 goals added
Feb 13 vs Jacksonville Opp ELO: 1462
There is a real “just-give-it-to-Chris” vibe around the UNC offense so far this year. In 2020, he accounted for 9.9% of the plays that appeared in the play-by-play for UNC. This year: 11.3%.
Last year, he averaged 8.4 shots per game. This year: 12.5. Granted, this is 2 blowout games we are talking about. We’ll see what happens one the ACC grinder starts up. Goals
Assists
Shots (OG)
4
3
13 (5)
GBs
FO Won
FO Pct
3
0
N/A
Turnovers
Penalties
Caused TO
2
0
1
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#3 – Nathan Kapp (Jacksonville) – 6.91 goals added
Feb 10 vs Bellarmine Opp ELO: 1317
Consider it a coming-out party for Nathan Kapp. After winning 26 of 30 faceoffs, Kapp may be the biggest bright spot for a Jacksonville team that had quite a few in their big win over Bellarmine.
Last year’s Dolphins ended the year with a -12 possession margin. The 2019 squad was -42 on the year. If Kapp is going to be a weapon at the faceoff X, this is a very different looking team. Now the caveat: against UNC, he won just 10 of 23 faceoffs, so I think we need to see a few more games from him before we can say what we are dealing with here. Goals
Assists
Shots (OG)
0
0
1 (1)
GBs
FO Won
FO Pct
14
26
86%
Turnovers
Penalties
Caused TO
2
0
0
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#4 – Alec Stathakis (Denver) – 5.13 goals added
Feb 13 vs Air Force Opp ELO: 1566
Another big day at the faceoff X for Stathakis, winning 80% against the Falcons. This didn’t quite match up to his performance against Duke, but it was still good for one of the best EGA scores of the week.
So far, Stathakis has taken 4 shots without finding the back of the net yet. It’s probably only a matter of time before he A) gets a goal or B) is politely asked to stop shooting. Goals
Assists
Shots (OG)
0
0
2 (0)
GBs
FO Won
FO Pct
12
16
80%
Turnovers
Penalties
Caused TO
2
0
0
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#5 – Dylan Willis (St. John’s) – 5.10 goals added
Feb 13 vs Hofstra Opp ELO: 1518
One game does not make a trend, but at this rate, Willis will have one of the most enlarged roles you’ll see this year. Last year, across 7 games, he averaged a little under 4 shots per game. Against Hofstra, he took 11.
Goals
Assists
Shots (OG)
3
1
11 (6)
GBs
FO Won
FO Pct
4
0
N/A
Turnovers
Penalties
Caused TO
1
0
0
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#6 – Zach Cole (Saint Joseph’s) – 4.99 goals added
Feb 13 vs Towson Opp ELO: 1522
Zach Cole has been a mainstay on this list, and he shows up again after the OT loss to Towson. In the 2019 season, St. Joe’s saw their faceoff win rate jump from 42% to 62%, thanks to Cole’s arrival in Philly. Last year, he jumped up to 64.6%. We will see if his performance against Towson is an indication that he’s still got room to grow.
Goals
Assists
Shots (OG)
0
0
5 (1)
GBs
FO Won
FO Pct
11
13
72%
Turnovers
Penalties
Caused TO
1
0
0
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#7 – Joe Madsen (St. John’s) – 4.96 goals added
Feb 13 vs Hofstra Opp ELO: 1518
Well, this is a first. Two twins, both ending up on the weekly list of top individual EGA performances. Joe’s EGA slightly bested Mike’s, but then Mike got the OT game winner, so I’m calling it even.
Goals
Assists
Shots (OG)
4
1
7 (5)
GBs
FO Won
FO Pct
5
0
N/A
Turnovers
Penalties
Caused TO
5
0
1
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#8 – Dylan Pallonetti (Stony Brook) – 4.88 goals added
Feb 13 vs Sacred Heart Opp ELO: 1442
Pallonetti had a pretty well rounded game in his first start with the Seawolves after transferring from Maryland. He shot 50% (6 goals on 12 shots), which was a big part of Stony Brook logging a 36.4% shooting percentage in this one.
Shooting has been an issue for the Seawolves in recent years; the last time they were over 30% as a team was 2017. Goals
Assists
Shots (OG)
6
1
12 (11)
GBs
FO Won
FO Pct
2
0
N/A
Turnovers
Penalties
Caused TO
4
1
0
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#9 – Mike Madsen (St. John’s) – 4.51 goals added
Feb 13 vs Hofstra Opp ELO: 1518
Madsen was the ultimate hero for the Red Storm, canning the OT winner. He ended up with a 10.5% share of the Red Storm’s plays in this one, and that was in part why he didn’t land higher on this list. Despite 4 goals on 7 shots, He also ended the day with 5 turnovers.
That isn’t likely to continue though. Even in his freshman year, Madsen only averaged 1.6 turnovers per game. Goals
Assists
Shots (OG)
2
3
14 (7)
GBs
FO Won
FO Pct
4
0
N/A
Turnovers
Penalties
Caused TO
1
1
1
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#10 – Ashton Wood (Mercer) – 4.50 goals added
Feb 13 vs Duke Opp ELO: 1818
Against Bellarmine in the opener, Wood was unstoppable, going 18 of 19 on faceoffs. Against Duke, he wasn’t as dominant, but he stood toe to toe with the Blue Devils faceoff specialists…and won. The 15 of 28 mark isn’t going to set any records for Wood, but it once again showed that he is an elite FOGO.
Goals
Assists
Shots (OG)
0
0
1 (0)
GBs
FO Won
FO Pct
8
15
53%
Turnovers
Penalties
Caused TO
1
0
1
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