Atlantic Hockey Notebook: February 17
Posted by: Melissa BurgessHere are the current Atlantic Hockey standings:
- AIC
- Bentley
- Air Force
- RIT
- Sacred Heart
- Mercyhurst
- Niagara
- Army
- Robert Morris
- Holy Cross
- Canisius
The Niagara Purple Eagles finally ended the Bentley Falcons’ impressive unbeaten streak this weekend. After Bentley pulled off a 3-1 win on Thursday, the Purple Eagles rallied for a 4-3 victory on Friday night. Ben Sokay had the game-winning goal – his second tally of the night – while Noah Delmas and Justin Kendall also scored for Niagara. That ended Bentley’s eight-game winning streak and 12-game unbeaten streak, with their last loss coming on December 30.
Overall, there were a lot of split series this weekend in Atlantic Hockey. The RIT Tigers beat Sacred Heart 2-0 in a matinee match on Friday on goals by Shawn Cameron and Jordan Peacock, but the Pioneers charged back for a 4-3 overtime win Saturday. Austin Magera had the game-winning goal with 39 seconds left in overtime.
Colin Bilek and Joseph Duszak scored for their respective teams as Army and Mercyhurst finished in a 1-1 tie on Friday evening at West Point. The Black Knights won the second half of the series with a 4-3 win on Saturday, powered by goals from Daniel Haider, Taylor Maruya, Zach Evancho and Dalton MacAfee.
Robert Morris and Holy Cross also split their weekend. The Colonials scored five goals, including three straight in the third period, en route to a 5-3 win. Eric Israel had a pair of goals, while Michael Louria, Alex Tonge and Jacob Coleman also scored for Robert Morris. But Tommy Nixon would post a 32-save shutout the next night in a 2-0 Holy Cross win. Michael Laffin and Anthony Vincent had the goals on Saturday for the Crusaders.
Elsewhere, Canisius and Air Force also split their series. The Falcons scored on all situations – even-strength, shorthanded and on the power play – in Friday’s 3-0 win, with goals from Walker Sommer, Kyle Haak and Alex Mehnert. The tables were turned on Saturday, as Canisius came off with a 3-0 win powered by a pair from Dylan McLaughlin. Felix Chamberland also scored, as the Griffs had a pair of power-play goals in the win.
Finally, in the last non-conference action of the season, conference-leading AIC fell twice to Arizona State by scores of 4-1 and 5-4. Joel Kocur had the lone goal in Friday’s loss, when Arizona State scored twice on the power play. Kyle Stephan, Ryan Polin, and Tobias Fladeby (2) scored on Saturday, but the Yellow Jackets fell in overtime when PJ Marrocco had the game-winner.
