It was an exciting weekend in Atlantic Hockey, as the Air Force Falcons recorded their first sweep at the Army West Point Black Knights since 2004, and RiT’s Erik Brown became the all-time goal scoring leader for his team’s D-I history.

Air Force topped Army twice, with a 4-2 victory in each game. The Falcons received goals from Matt Pulver, Zack Mirageas, Brady Tomlak and Trevor Stone in Friday night’s win. Stone and Tomlak also scored in Saturday’s win, with Kyle Haak and Kieran Durgan adding goals. Billy Christopoulos made 47 saves over the course of the weekend to help Air Force to the victories.

Army’s goals on the weekend came from Dominic Franco, Trevor Fidler, Marshal Plunkett and Daniel Haider. Both goals in Friday’s game came on the power play.

Mercyhurst topped RIT 4-3 on Friday. The Lakers took a 2-0 lead on goals by Wes Baker, but the Tigers tied it with a pair of goals in the second period from Jake Hamacher and Abbott Girduckis. Tommasi Bucci gave the Lakers the lead, and Baker completed the hat trick to make it 4-2. Jordan Peacock got one back for the Tigers, but the Lakers pulled off the win.

The teams then skated to a 2-2 tie on Saturday. Erik Brown scored the 56th goal of his collegiate career with 30 seconds left in regulation to tie the game. Brown’s goal made him RIT”s all-time leading scorer in the program’s Division-I history.

Jake Hamacher also scored for the Tigers. Mercyhurst got goals from Joseph Duszak and Taylor Best.

Elsewhere, Niagara and Robert Morris split their weekend series. The Colonials pulled off a 3-1 win Friday, with goals from Kyle Horsman, Daniel Mantenuto  and Luke Lynch. Nick Farmer scored the lone goal for the Purple Eagles.

Niagara rebounded for a 4-2 win the following night. Alex Truscott, Eric Cooley, Ryan Cox and Justin Kendall all scored for the Purple Eagles. Nick Lalonde had a pair of goals for the Colonials in the loss.

Sacred Heart and Bentley split their weekend series, while Canisius and AIC did the same.

The Pioneers topped the Falcons 3-2 Friday before dropping a decision by the same score Saturday. Sacred Heart scored on even-strength (Ryan Steele), the man advantage (Jason Cotton) and shorthanded (Austin Madera) in Friday’s win.

Dylan Pitera and Jake Kauppila scored for Bentley on Saturday, with Drew Callin tallying the game-winning goal in overtime.

Canisius topped AIC 4-2 on Friday before falling to the Yellow Jackets 6-1 Saturday.

The Griffs got goals from Mitchell Martan, Matt Hoover and two from Dylan McLaughlin on Friday night, including one that made Sportscenter’s Top 10. Luka Maver and Darius Davidson scored for the Yellow Jackets in the loss.

The Yellow Jackets poured on the offense Saturday night. Kyle Stephan had a pair of goals, with Maver, Tobias Flabby, Chris Theodore and Davidson also scoring. McLaughlin had the lone goal for Canisius, his third of the weekend.

In non-conference action, Holy Cross fell 3-0 to nationally-ranked Providence on Saturday.

This coming weekend will see conference play between Holy Cross and Niagara; Bentley and Air Force; Sacred Heart and Army; and AIC and RIT. Robert Morris faces a pair of games against Penn State, while Mercyhurst visits St. Lawrence. Canisius also hosts Clarkson Saturday before visiting RIT next Tuesday.

Here are the current Atlantic Hockey standings:

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

Sunday, November 4th, 2018 - 8:44 pm | Atlantic Hockey, Notes, Thoughts, Ramblings