Well, here we are. It’s nearly the end of the Atlantic Hockey regular season, with just one more weekend to go before playoffs begin. But before we get too ahead of ourselves, let’s talk about this past weekend, because it was certainly an interesting one.

Here are the Atlantic Hockey standings as of Feb. 18:

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

Lakers Take Over First Place

Mercyhurst’s pair of wins over Robert Morris this weekend, combined with Canisius’ three-game losing streak, was enough to give the Lakers possession of first place, at least for the time being.

Friday, the Lakers scored twice in the first period and held on for the 2-1 win. Bryan Sienerth and Derek Barach potted goals for Mercyhurst, including Barach’s goal with one second left in the opening period.

The Colonials took Saturday’s game to OT with a late goal, but in the end, Mercyhurst scored with 16 seconds in overtime to take the win.

Patrick Piacentini and Kane Elliot scored for the Lakers in regulation, while Luke Lynch and Robert Powers had the goals for RMU. Josh Lammon had the game-winning goal in OT.

The Lakers will defend their first-place spot with a pair of games over RIT to finish out the regular season on February 23 & 24.

Tigers’ Four-Game Winning Streak Snapped

Following last weekend’s pair of of wins over Robert Morris, and a win over Mercyhurst, the Tigers split their weekend with Sacred Heart.

Saturday, the Tigers put up a commanding 5-0 victory to extend their winning streak to four games. That streak was subsequently snapped Sunday, when the Pioneers beat them 5-3 at Yale University.

Junior forward Erik Brown showcased an outstanding performance Saturday, with four of hi team’s five goals. He got the Tigers on the board just 5:39 in, then added another goal with just three seconds left in the opening period, on the man advantage. Brown completed the hat trick just 1:05 into the second period.

Jake Hamacher made it a four-goal game midway through the third period before Brown capped off his game with his fourth of the day. Myles Powell had three assists.

Brown potted his fifth goal of the weekend in Sunday’s loss. Mark Logan and Powell also scored for the Tigers. Austin McIlmurray, Vito Bavaro and Mike Crock scored for the Pioneers, while Zach Tsekos scored twice in the win.

Bentley Splits Opening Weekend in New Rink

Army West Point spoiled the opening of Bentley Arena, taking a 5-1 win at the Coach DeFelice Ice Rink on Friday night.

The Falcons opened their scoring at their new rink, with Brett Orr getting his team on the board early in the second period. From there, however, it was all Army. Alex Wilkinson had a pair of goals, including a power-play tally just 5:40 into the second period.

Tyler Pham, Conor Andrle and Zach Evancho all scored for the Black Knights in the third period. Cole Bruns had 28 saves in the win.

Saturday, the Falcons notched their first win at the new rink. Bentley took an early lead on a goal by Tanner Jago on the power play, but the Black Knights tied it just 46 seconds later on Andrle’s second goal of the weekend.

Before the first period was over, Bentley regained the lead on a power-play marker by Luke Santerno.

The Falcons held to their lead for a solid bit of hockey, until Dominic Franco tied the game once more with two minutes to play in the second period. Jake Kauppila gave his team the lead 4:26 into the third, and Andrew McDonald added one with nine seconds to play to seal the win.

Coming Up Next

Here’s the schedule for the final weekend of Atlantic Hockey action:

Thursday, February 22

AIC @ Holy Cross 7 pm

Friday, February 23

Air Force @ RMU 7:05 pm
Mercyhurst @ RIT 7:05 pm
Sacred Heart @ Army 7:05 pm
Niagara @ Canisius 7:35 pm

Saturday, February 24

AIC @ Bentley 7:05 pm
Sacred Heart @ Army 7:05 pm
Mercyhurst @ RIT 7:05 pm
Air Force @ RMU 7:05 pm
Canisius @ Niagara 7:05 pm

Sunday, February 18th, 2018 - 8:53 pm | Atlantic Hockey, Commentary, Notes, Thoughts, Ramblings