First wins, first goals, non-conference victories and more filled the week for Atlantic Hockey. Each team in the conference played at least one game, with AIC and Bentley each playing three times.

Army remains atop the conference standings after splitting the weekend with Robert Morris. Meanwhile, Holy Cross jumped two spots in the standings thanks to a pair of wins over Bentley. Air Force, Sacred Heart and RIT are all still awaiting their first conference games but have been tested early by strong non-conference competition in teams like Notre Dame, RPI and Bemidji State.

Here are the Atlantic Hockey standings:

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

 (After the jump: plenty of non-conference action keeping us busy.)

Atlantic Hockey Faces 13 Non-Conference Games

Between Thursday, October 19 and Saturday, October 21, Atlantic Hockey teams played 13 games against a slew of non-conference opponents including teams from the Big Ten, ECAC and WCHA.

Of these games, Atlantic Hockey came out on top five times, including Sacred Heart’s 6-4 win over Notre Dame and AIC’s 3-2 victory over Penn State. Niagara topped RPI 4-3, while Mercyhurst came out with a 4-1 win over Ferris State in their second meeting. Finally, Air Force ended their weekend with a 5-1 victory over Bemidji State.

In the lone tie of the weekend, Canisius and Colgate ended 3-3.

Looking ahead, there’s a lot more conference action this coming weekend, with only four non-conference games on the slate. Holy Cross will face Dartmouth and Princeton, while Robert Morris faces Ohio State for a pair.

Just a Few Firsts

As is typical at the beginning of the season, many players are notching their first collegiate goals, points, wins, etc. This past week was particularly special for Sacred Heart sophomore Vito Bavaro, who registered his first career hat trick in their 6-4 win over Notre Dame.

Holy Cross freshman Andrew Dumaresque notched his first collegiate goal in their 5-0 win over Bentley.

Another notable point from this past week’s games comes from AIC’s 3-2 win over Penn State. The Nittany Lions are the highest-ranked team AIC has ever beaten; they’re ranked 11th nationally.

Holy Cross Notches Two Wins: RIT Struggles

Holy Cross won twice in the past week, with a pair of victories over Bentley. These were their first conference wins of the season. The Crusaders beat Bentley narrowly, 4-3, on Friday, before a clean 5-0 victory on Saturday.

While the Crusaders came out of the weekend with a pair of wins, the RIT Tigers came out with a pair of non-conference losses against Union and RPI.

Looking ahead, Air Force will see their first conference action of the season this weekend with a pair of games against Canisius. Sacred Heart faces Niagara for a pair, and RIT visits Army for two games in their first conference action of the season.

Following a busy three-game week, AIC now gets a week off, with their next game coming on November 3.

Wednesday, October 25th, 2017 - 10:17 am | Atlantic Hockey, Notes, Thoughts, Ramblings