It’s been a busy week and a half in Atlantic Hockey, between non-conference action against teams like the University of North Dakota and Vermont, and in-conference action between foes like RIT and Niagara and Holy Cross and Mercyhurst.

Here are the current Atlantic Hockey standings:

1. AIC
2. Air Force
3. Niagara
4. Mercyhurst
5. Army
6. Robert Morris
7. RIT
8. Canisius
9. Sacred Heart
10. Bentley
11. Holy Cross

Here’s a look at what each team did this past week:

AIC: The Yellow Jackets fell to UMass 6-1 on Saturday, January 5, but rallied back with a 6-5 win over conference opponent Sacred Heart on Tuesday, January 8. Captain Shawn McBride had the lone goal in the loss to UMass. The Yellow Jackets held on for a win against the Pioneers despite giving up three straight goals in the final 25 minutes of play. Martin Mellberg had a hat trick, while Jeff Baum, Tobias Fladeby and Kyle Stephan also scored. They’ll now prepare to host RIT for a pair of games this upcoming weekend.

Air Force: The Falcons dominated St. Lawrence on Friday, beating them by a decisive 7-1 score. Air Force scored six straight goals before giving up one. Evan Giesler and Kyle Haak each scored twice. Kieran Durgan, Evan Feno and Walker Sommer also scored. They followed it up with a 4-1 loss to Western Michigan University as part of the Ice Vegas Invitational in Las Vegas, Nevada; Matt Koch had the lone goal. It’s an exciting weekend ahead as Air Force hosts Army for a pair of sold-out games.

Niagara: It was a rough weekend for the Purple Eagles. They managed to tie RIT 4-4 on Friday but fell to the Tigers the following night, 2-1. Luke Edgerton had a pair of goals Friday, while Niko Kovachis and Ludwig Stenlund also scored. Kovachis also scored Saturday on the power play, the lone goal in the loss. Niagara gave up the game-winning goal on the man advantage with just two seconds remaining in regulation – a heartbreaker of a loss. They’ll hit the road this weekend for a series against Holy Cross.

Mercyhurst: The Lakers split their series with Holy Cross this past weekend, beating them 4-3 before falling 5-4 the next night. Joseph Duszak had a hat trick in Friday’s win, while James Anderson also added a goal – which Duszak assisted on. Duszak also scored in Saturday’s loss. Taylor Best, Derek Barach and Joshua Lammon  had the other goals for the Lakers. Mercyhurst will now take on a home-and-home with Canisius.

Army: The Black Knights had just one game this past weekend, a 2-1 overtime loss to non-conference foe RPI in Troy, NY. Brendan Soucie had the only goal for Army, while Jared Dempsey made 28 saves. They’ll hit the road this weekend for a pair of games against Air Force in what should be a thrilling matchup as usual.

Robert Morris: Robert Morris lost both of their non-conference games this past weekend, dropping decisions to Brown (7-4) and St. Cloud State (5-2). Grant Hebert had a hat trick on Friday; Eric Israel also scored. On Saturday, goals came from Nick Prkusic and Nick Lalonde. They’ll host Bentley this weekend for a series.

RIT: The Tigers tied with Niagara on Friday 4-4 before beating them the next night, 2-1. Alden Dupuis scored twice Friday, with Abbott Girduckis and Will Calverley also adding goals. RIT scored twice on the man advantage. On Saturday, Girduckis had the opening goal for the Tigers. Niagara tied it in the third period, but RIT stole the game with just two seconds remaining in regulation, as Adam Brubacher scored the game-winner on the power play. They’re back in action this weekend with a pair of games against AIC.

Canisius: The Griffs were named the CHN Team of the Week after beating North Dakota twice over the past weekend. Canisius pulled off upsets by scores of 3-1 and 2-1 despite being outshot badly in both games. Grant Meyer had a goal in each game, while David Parrottino, Cameron Heath and Felix Chamberland also scored. Goaltenders Blake Weyrick and Matt Ladd combined for 78 saves. The Griffs will now look to feed off those big wins in the home-and-home against Mercyhurst this weekend.

Sacred Heart: The Pioneers fell 3-2 to non-conference Vermont. Ryan Steele and Jordan Kaplan had the goals for Sacred Heart, including one on the man advantage. Kaplan also had an assist. They also fell to AIC, 6-5, on Tuesday. The Peioneers got goals from five different players: Ryan Steele, Nick Boyagian, Austin Magera, Vito Bavaro and Marcel Godbout. They’ll face another tough opponent this weekend, playing Yale on Saturday.

Bentley: The Falcons tied non-conference Dartmouth this past Saturday, 3-3. Jonathan Desbiens scored a pair of goals in the tie. Drew Callin also notched a goal as the Falcons overcame a 2-0 deficit. Aidan Pelino made 24 saves. They’ll return to Atlantic Hockey action this weekend in the series against Robert Morris.

Holy Cross: Though they’re last in Atlantic Hockey, Holy Cross held their own this past weekend against Mercyhurst. They fell 4-3 on Friday but received goals from Michael Laffin, Matt Slick and Conner Jean. They then beat Mercyhurst 5-4 the following evening thanks to a late goal from Kevin Darrar. The Crusaders scored four straight en route to the win. Spencer Trapp, Johnny Coughlin, Peter Crinella and Neil Robinson scored. Three of Holy Cross’ five goals came on the power play. They’ll host Niagara for a pair this weekend.

Thursday, January 10th, 2019 - 1:05 pm | Atlantic Hockey, Notes, Thoughts, Ramblings