Atlantic Hockey entered its holiday break with a quiet weekend, with just two games between December 15 – 17. Robert Morris and Mercyhurst faced a home-and-home series in the lone pair of games over the weekend, with RMU sweeping the series.

Entering the break, here are the Atlantic Hockey standings:

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

RMU, Mercyhurst Split Series

The Colonials beat the Lakers on December 16, 5-2, and 5-3 the following evening.

There were several key players on each side who produced the majority of the weekend’s offense. For the Lakers, though it was a losing weekend, the shining spots were seniors Jonathan Charbonneau and Zach Todd.

Charbonneau, a forward, had three goals, including two on the man advantage, and added an assist. Todd, a defenseman, had four assists in the pair of losses. He also had four shots on goal.

The Colonials, meanwhile, were led by senior Brady Ferguson, who registered seven points (2-5) over the two games. As a result, he earned first star of the week from NCAA Hockey.

Junior Alex Tonge put up six points (1-5) while senior Timmy Moore notched five points (2-3).

A Look at the Standings

As Atlantic Hockey heads into its break, the top two teams in the conference are from Western New York. Holy Cross is third, while Robert Morris’ pair of wins helped them jump from seventh to fourth.

Canisius and Robert Morris lead the conference with 59 goals-for, while Holy Cross has allowed the fewest goals (45). Canisius is also the most heavily-penalized team in the conference.

RMU’s Ferguson leads the conference with 27 points (12-15) in 19 games, while his teammate, Michael Louria, has 25 points in 19 games. Canisius’ Dylan McLaughlin also has 25 points, in just 15 games.

In net, AIC’s Stefano Durante leads the league with a 2.17 GAA, while Paul Berrafato (Holy Cross) has a .924 save percentage and a conference-leading 548 saves on the season.

What’s Next

Teams will return from the holiday break on Friday, December 29, with 14 games over the course of that weekend.

Conference highlights include RIT vs. Mercyhurst and Sacred Heart vs. Holy Cross, but the weekend will mostly focus on non-conference action. Opponents include Ohio State (Niagara), Lake Superior State (RMU), Minnesota (Army), Colorado College and Denver (both Air Force).

Wednesday, December 20th, 2017 - 10:22 am | Atlantic Hockey, Notes, Thoughts, Ramblings