Atlantic Hockey Notebook: February 5
Posted by: Melissa BurgessHere are the current Atlantic Hockey standings:
- AIC
- Air Force
- Bentley
- Mercyhurst
- RIT
- Niagara
- Sacred Heart
- Army
- Robert Morris
- Holy Cross
- Canisius
Here’s a look at what happened this past weekend, when all 11 teams in Atlantic Hockey were active.
AIC Yellow Jackets Stay Hot: The Yellow Jackets continue to prove themselves as the real deal, extending their hold on first place with a pair of wins over Niagara. The Yellow Jackets beat the Purple Eagles 6-4 on Friday and 6-3 the following night. Four of their 12 goals came on special teams – but they also gave up three shorthanded goals over the course of the two games. Joel Kocur had a goal in each of the games. Netminder Zackarias Skog recorded an assist on Friday and made 12 saves; he also made 28 saves the following night. The Yellow Jackets have now won three straight.
Mercyhurst vs. Canisius: The Lakers jumped up one spot in the conference standings, beating Canisius and tying them the following night. Mercyhurst topped the Griffs 5-3 on Friday, powered by a strong first period with goals from Michael Bevilacqua, James Anderson and Dalton Hunter. Stefano Cantali made 37 saves. Casey Jerry and Taylor Best had the goals in Saturday’s tie, which proved to be quite a different game. Colin DeAugustine made 35 saves for the Lakers, while Blake Weyrick had 21 saves.
Bentley Continues Unbeaten Streak: The Falcons are on a five-game winning streak and have a lengthy unbeaten streak going too (for more on that, check out my recent piece.) They topped Air Force 4-3 and 4-0 this past weekend. Brendan Hamblet had the OT game-winner on Friday; Jonathan Desbiens scored in each of the two games. Aidan Pelino made 37 saves, including 20 in Saturday’s shutout victory. Luke Santerno is fourth in Atlantic Hockey scoring, with 29 points in 27 games.
Sacred Heart Sweeps Robert Morris: The Pioneers have now won three straight and jumped up two spots in the conference standings with a sweep of Robert Morris, winning by scores of 6-2 and 3-1. Sacred Heart scored four unanswered goals, including a pair by Austin McIlmurray in the third period, to break a 2-2 tie and capture the win on Friday. Austin Magera had a pair of goals on Saturday, including the game-winning goal. With the losses, Robert Morris extended their losing streak to five games.
RIT Drops Two to Arizona State: The RIT Tigers fell twice to non-conference opponent Arizona State, losing by scores of 6-1 and 4-2. Ryan Kruper, Darren Brady and Jake Hamacher had the goals for the Tigers. Ian Andriano made 18 saves in Friday’s loss, while Logan Drackett had 23 saves Saturday. Arizona State will face AIC later this month in the final non-conference games of the season.
Holy Cross, Army Face Off: The Crusaders have finally climbed their way out of the basement in the Atlantic Hockey standings after tying the Black Knights 2-2 Friday and defeating them 5-4 Saturday. Logan Milliken and Johnny Coughlin scored for the Crusaders on Friday, while Dominic Franco and Zach Evancho both scored on the power play for Army in the tie. The teams traded goals on Saturday, with Anthony Vincent scoring the game-winner with 7:02 to play in regulation. Holy Cross had three power-play goals on Saturday, while Army scored once shorthanded and once with the man advantage.
