Top Patriot League Games To Watch

The Patriot League was the fifth conference to have every team announce their schedule.

With that, let’s list some of the best regular season games involving PL teams in 2017.

We’ll start with listing some nonconference games to watch.

FEBRUARY

Boston University @ Providence (February 4) (That game is tomorrow)

Johns Hopkins @ Navy (February 7)

Marist @ Colgate (February 11)

Providence @ Holy Cross (February 11)

Lafayette @ Michigan (February 11)

Lehigh @ Jacksonville (February 11)

Virginia @ Loyola (February 11)

Maryland @ Navy (February 11)

Lafayette @ Wagner (February 17)

Army West Point @ Rutgers (February 18)

Boston University @ Hartford (February 18)

Fairfield @ Bucknell (February 18)

Loyola @ Johns Hopkins (February 18)

Army West Point @ Syracuse (February 26)

Bryant @ Boston University (February 28)

Lafayette @ Sacred Heart (February 28)

MARCH

Loyola @ Towson (March 1)

Air Force @ Boston University (March 4)

Hobart @ Colgate (March 7)

Navy @ Penn (March 7)

Loyola @ Duke (March 11)

Bucknell @ Villanova (March 14)

Lehigh @ Stony Brook (March 14)

Siena @ Colgate (March 19)

Harvard @ Boston University (March 21)

Colgate @ Cornell (March 21)

APRIL

Princeton @ Lehigh (April 11)

Lehigh @ Cornell (April 15)

MAY

Notre Dame @ Army West Point (May 6)

Syracuse @ Colgate (May 6)

Duke vs. Boston University (in Bethpage, NY) (May 7)

TOP GAME: The top nonconference games will certainly come from the Baltimore area. I think Loyola’s games compared to Navy’s will be better quality games overall, with the best of them all being the annual Battle of Charles Street between the Greyhounds and the Blue Jays. It should be another great game between the two neighbors.

TOP MATCHUP: It involves Pat Spencer. I think it’ll be great to see him in his first game of the year against Virginia’s Tanner Scales, although I would love to see him against Nick Fields of Johns Hopkins as well. Either way, Pat Spencer is a solid candidate to win the Tewaaraton Award.

UNDER-THE-RADAR GAME: Marisa didn’t pay me to write this portion, but the Air Force- BU showdown is a really intriguing game in March. I was thinking about Fairfield-Bucknell as well, but the former matchup involves two teams that will probably be ranked by this game. Air Force is already ranked.

From the nonconference games to the conference games, here’s my Top 5.

1. Navy @ Loyola (March 18) - A big battle of Patriot League powers in Baltimore, where it’ll be a clash between defense and offense. The majority of Loyola’s offense returns, such as Spencer and Brian Sherlock, while two of Navy’s three starting defensemen, Chris Fennell and Matt Rees, also return. Will Ryan Kern be solid in net after the departure of John Connors from Annapolis?
2. Army West Point @ Navy (April 15) - This one is obvious by the two teams playing and needs no more explanation.
3. Army West Point @ Bucknell (April 1) - I’m big on Bucknell this year, and this game could be an important game for seeding in the Patriot League tournament. Cole Johnson was an offensive weapon last year for Army, while Will Sands was the same for Bucknell. The Bison could be the third best team in the Patriot League.
4. Boston University @ Navy (February 25) - Remember when BU upset the Midshipmen and Marisa loved it? Yeah, they have a chance to do that once again, except it’ll happen in Annapolis. Sam Talkow will have a battle against Navy’s Brady Dove once again at the face-off X, but Navy needs to place some sort of emphasis on offense this year, led by Jack Ray and Greyson Torain.
5. Boston University @ Lehigh (April 1) - This is always a great Patriot League game between teams in the middle of the conference. Lehigh took last year’s meeting, and are hoping for another step forward this season. Same with BU, except their step forward is reaching the Patriot League tournament for the first time in program history.