Coming into the season, Dave Burkholder and Niagara had no clue who was going to be the No.1 goalie. Well, there is no doubt who’s No. 1 now. Carsen Chubak continued his torrid run this week, posting his third straight shutout on Friday before finally letting in a goal with 5:30 left in the third period Saturday. Chubak played 247:59 between goals. Throw in the shutout of Clarkson on Oct. 26 and Chubak has played 307:59, surrendering just two goals. He has clearly cemented himself as the No.1 in net for the Purple Eagles. He leads the nation in both save percentage (.966) and goals against (1.09). With Chubak in net, the Purple Eagles are a perfect 5-0 in conference play and are the only team not to lose an Atlantic Hockey game this year. (more…)

While it’s still early in the season, its starting, albeit slowly, to become clear who has a chance to win the Atlantic Hockey title this year. Air Force and RIT, perennial favorites, have had trouble with consistency this year and have yet to win consecutive games, while Niagara hasn’t lost in five straight games and is perfect in conference play.

1. Niagara – For the second straight week the Purple Eagles sit atop the Power Rankings thanks to back-to-back shutouts of UConn by Carsen Chubak. After that performance Chubak has definitely cemented himself as the No. 1 in net. Chubak leads the nation with a .962 save percentage and is tied for first in goals against (1.23). His three shutouts also lead the nation. (more…)

Niagara is on a roll. The Purple Eagles haven’t lost in five straight games and posted back-to-back shutout of UConn. Carsen Chubak recorded both shutouts and now has three on the year. He’s allowed just one goal in the last four games and appears to have grabbed the No. 1 role in net for the Purple Eagles.

Mercyhurst was the only other Atlantic Hockey team to sweep this weekend. Allowed just one goal in two games against Sacred Heart. Daniel Bahntge scored twice on the weekend while Ryan Misiak scored once and added two assists. This sweep builds momentum for the Lakers as they have an important early season matchup with RIT next weekend. (more…)

Another week is done and it’s time for the Atlantic Hockey Power Rankings. This week’s rankings have several teams moving spots, including a new No. 1.

1. Niagara – The Purple Eagles jump to the top spot after un defeated weekend, going 1-0-1 against Clarkson. Carsen Chubak may have moved closer to claiming the No. 1 role in net after he shut out Clarkson on Friday and then allowed one goal in relief of Cody Campbell, who allowed three goals on nine shots on Saturday.

2. Holy Cross – The Crusaders earned a tough two points with a win over UConn on Friday but then were blown out by Army on Saturday. The good news is that all three Crusader goals came on the powerplay. (more…)

Army has gotten off to one of their best starts in awhile. Their two conference wins are just one short of the total conference wins they had last season. And they scored seven goals against Holy Cross, considered to be one of the better teams in Atlantic Hockey, which is the most they have scored since 2009. They scored more than three goals just once last season. The signs are pointing to the Black Knights being better than last season. (more…)

It was a rather disappointing weekend for Atlantic Hockey, going 1-8-2 in non-conference games. Holy Cross’ victory over Clarkson prevented the league from having a winless weekend. And so here are this week’s Atlantic Hockey Power Rankings.

1. Holy Cross – The Crusaders are the only unbeaten left in Atlantic Hockey, albeit they’ve only played two games. Paul Pearl’s team scored six goals in their first regular season game and followed it up with a win over ECAC foe Clarkson. Brandon Nunn has four points in the two games while Jake Youso looks primed for a big sophomore season.

2. Niagara – Aside from a 10-2 blowout lose at Colgate, the Purple Eagles have had a chance to win every game so far this season. Unfortunately, they’ve only come out with one win so far. In both games against Michigan State this weekend, the Purple Eagles led 2-0 going into the third period but could only muster one tie.

3. Bentley – Like Holy Cross, the Falcons have only played two games so far this season. They beat Sacred Heart before falling to Michigan. Brett Gensler, fresh off a 50-point season, already has six points in two games. (more…)

Atlantic Hockey kicked off it’s 10th season this past weekend. Only Bentley and Holy Cross have yet to play but every other team was in action this weekend.  And it was a much better start than last year for Atlantic Hockey. Michigan (then- No. 3) and Quinnipiac (then- No. 18) both fell to AHA teams while Alaska and Alaska-Anchorage combined to go 0-1-2 against AHA teams. At the end of the weekend, AHA teams were 4-8-2 in non-conference games.

It’s a step up from last year’s 1-14 performance on the first weekend of the year.  And with more non-conference games to come next weekend, AHA teams have a chance to make a bigger splash on the national scene. Next weekend AHA teams will face Michigan, Michigan State, Ferris State, and Denver.

As of right now, everyone is chasing Niagara after the Purple Eagles 2-1 win over Mercyhurst. The Purple Eagles and Lakers were the only teams to play an Atlantic Hockey game this weekend. But next week there will be three while everyone else stays in non-conference play.

For the second straight year it came down to Air Force vs. RIT. And for the second straight year the Falcons emerged victorious with a shutout. It’s the Falcons fifth title in six years. Unlike last year’s final, this one had little drama. The Falcons jumped out to a 2-0 in the first period and never looked back.

(more…)

It’s all come down to this. One weekend to decide to who will go to the NCAA Tournament and who will go home. Niagara, Mercyhurst, RIT and Air Force will battle it out in Rochester, N.Y. this weekend. All four teams finished just two points apart at the end of the regular season. Here’s how the teams got here last weekend.

Meryhurst –  The Lakers are going back to Rochester for the first time since 2009. But it wasn’t easy getting there. The Lakers were forced to go three games  against Holy Cross. In the Lakers two wins against Holy Cross, they surrendered two goals. In their loss they gave up three. Daniel Bahntage and Matthew Zay each scored twice in the three games. Daniel O’Donoghue added three assists. In all three games, the Lakers were outshot in every game, including 42-27 in game 3, but Max Strang stood strong. (more…)

The first round of the playoffs are done, with all the higher seed winning. While the higher seed won, it’s clear that the craziness from the end of the regular season has carried over into the playoffs. AIC and Sacred Heart both pushed their series to three games. Next weekend is sure to have much of the same.

Canisius at UConn – The Huskies swept Canisius in two games. The Huskies eked out an overtime victory on Friday before Garrett Bartus shut out the Golden Griffins on Saturday. Cole Schneider had two goals and two assists while Brant Harris added a goal and three assists. It’s the third straight year that the Huskies have made it to the AHA quarterfinals. The Huskies will travel to Air Force in the quarterfinals

For the Golden Griffins, the season ends on a sour note but they will be returning much of the same team next year, with four of their top five scorers being sophomores right now. Taylor Law finishes him sophomore season with 26 points, well above the 11 he produced his freshman year. (more…)