The season is starting to wind down but things are as close as ever in Atlantic Hockey. Just six points separate second place from tenth place. One bad weekend and you could go from a first round bye to playing on the road in the first round of the playoffs. Every point is crucial at this point.

1. Niagara – It’s hard to pick against the Purple Eagles these days. Their only blemishes in Atlantic Hockey play were a loss at Holy Cross and a tie at RIT. They haven’t lost an Atlantic Hockey game at home this season.

2. Air Force – The Falcons have found their grove since the calendars turned to 2013, going 5-1-1. They currently ride a four game winning streak and a six game unbeaten streak. This stretch has vaulted the Falcons all the way up to second place.

3. Holy Cross – The Crusaders look like they’ve lost their way. They went 3-5 in January and scored more than two goals just once on those eight games. But they’re still in third place but have lots of company around them vying for the first round bye.

4. Bentley – After a winless December, the Falcons have turned it up in January, going 5-2 and moving up to third in the standings. The two losses were the only times the Falcons did not score three goals or more.

5. Mercyhurst – The Lakers haven’t been able to find any consistency recently. The have alternated wins and losses throughout January but remain in the hunt for a first round bye.

6. UConn – The Huskies have responded well to permanently losing Bruce Marshall. They went 5-3-1 in January and are right in the thick of things for playoff positioning. The Huskies are tied with RIT for eighth place and face the Tigers this weekend.

7. Robert Morris – January has not been kind to the Colonials,who went just 3-5. Their struggles saw them drop to tenth in the standings but are only six points out of second place.

8. Canisius – The Golden Griffins are a difficult team to figure out. Some nights they can score with the best in the league and other times the offense just disappears. But they’re still just one point out of fourth place and a first round bye.

9. Army – After a strong start to the season, the Black Knights have fallen on hard times. They got just three points in January and now sit in seventh place.

10. RIT – The Tigers look to be gaining momentum as they have points in four of their last five games. And it comes at just right time for the Tigers to make a run up the standings.

11.  AIC – The Yellow Jackets managed to take three points this month but don’t look to be moving up in the standings anytime soon.

12. Sacred Heart – The Pioneers struggles continue. They surrendered five goals or more in every January game and continue to be the nation’s only winless team.

Wednesday, January 30th, 2013 - 5:55 pm | Atlantic Hockey