Atlantic Hockey Update For Games Through December 28, 2003

December 29, 2003

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Co - Players of the Week

Brendan McCartin, Bentley (Jr, F, Camp Hill, PA) - McCartin had a solid day for the Falcons, tallying a goal and two assists, snapping a four-game goalless streak. His goal tied the game midway through the second period, and he assisted on a tally in the second and third periods.

David Wrigley, Mercyhurst (Jr., F, Washago, ONT) – Wrigley had two goals on four shots in Mercyhurst's come-from-behind 3-2 win over RPI Sunday night in Troy, NY. One of his back-to-back goals in the second period came on a power play. Mercyhurst's win was its first ever in four tries against the Engineers.

Others Nominated: Tim Olsen, Connecticut, Andrew McKay, Holy Cross.

Co-Goaltenders of the Week

Simon St. Pierre, Bentley (Jr, G, Montreal, QUE) – Junior goaltender Simon St. Pierre collected a season high 45 saves against the Huskies. St. Pierre now has 2095 saves in his career, setting a Bentley College record for saves in a career.

Jordan Wakefield, Mercyhurst (Fr., G, Sprucegrove, Alberta) - Wakefield stopped 40 of 42 shots (.952) as the Lakers won at RPI 3-2 Sunday night December 28 in the opening day of the Rensselaer/HSBC Holiday Tournament. Wakefield stopped all 19 shots against him in the decisive third period. It was Mercyhurst's first ever win against Rensselaer.

Others Nominated: Scott Tomes, Connecticut

Freshman of the Week

Trevor Stewart, Connecticut (Fr., Elk River, MN) – Stewart notched two points in UConn’s 4-4 tie with Bentley, assisting on Tim Olsen’s goal to help put UConn up 2-1 in the second period, and scoring one of his own to give the Huskies a 4-2 lead early in the third period. Stewart currently has five goals and five assists on the season for 10 points.

Others Nominated: Scott Champagne, Mercyhurst.

Team Notes

American International: The Yellow Jackets are off until January 9 when they have a weekend stay at Army.

Army: The Black Knights are off until January 3 when head coach Rob Riley will go after win No. 300 as Army hosts St. Clair College at Tate Rink.

Bentley: In their first game action since December 5th, the Falcons took on UConn in the opening round of the 11th annual UConn Hockey Classic. Trailing 4-2, Bentley was able to come back and tie the game and force overtime, and eventually into a shootout situation. The Huskies prevailed in the shootout round 2-1, and advanced to the finals. Officially the game will be considered a 4-4 overtime tie. Brendan McCartin (Jr, F, Camp Hill, Pa.) had a solid day for the Falcons, tallying a goal and two assists, snapping a four-game goalless streak. His goal tied the game midway through the second period, and he assisted on a tally in the second and third periods. Sophomore Ryan Lessnau recorded a goal and an assist, snapping a six-game scoreless streak. His assist came on sophomore Jake Plattner’s third period game-tying goal. Freshman Carmen Posteraro scored his first goal since November 1, an even strength tally in the middle of the third, and potted Bentley’s only score in the shootout round. Goaltender Simon St. Pierre (Jr, GK, Montreal, Que.) collected a season high 45 saves against the Huskies. St. Pierre now has 2095 saves in his career, setting a Bentley College record for saves in a career. Bentley is mired in a 12-game winless streak, the longest since 2001-02, and in its last three games, Bentley is 0-2-3, with a scoring differential of -2

Canisius: Canisius returns to action after the holiday break to host Quinnipiac University Jan. 9 and 10.

Connecticut: In UConn’s only game of the week, the Huskies tied Bentley 4-4 for the record books, but advanced to the championship game of the 2003 UConn Hockey Classic after scoring two goals to Bentley’s one in a shootout following the contest. The Huskies scored first in the game and led by as much as 4-2 in the third period before the Falcons came back to tie to score and send the game into overtime. Freshman B.J. Crum tallied an assist on the Huskies’ first goal of the game to record his first career point, and both junior Tim Olsen and freshman Trevor Stewart recorded two points in the game as each scored a goal and an assist. Olsen was the hero of the shootout for the Huskies, scoring both of UConn’s two goals to put his team in the final, while freshman goaltender Scott Tomes was also impressive, stopping six of Bentley’s seven attempts in the shootout. UConn will face Air Force, also a shootout winner in their game against Sacred Heart, in the final game of the Classic at 5:15 p.m. on Monday, December 29.

Holy Cross: HC clinched a win over Concordia University, 3-2 Saturday in a shootout. Concordia was the first opponent for Holy Cross in the Pierrefond Tournament held in Montreal. Concordia scored first, four minutes into the game, when the Stinger offense found Holy Cross goaltender Tony Quesada (South Freeport, ME) out of the net. The Stingers collected their second goal one minute later to take the early 2-0 lead. Pierre Napert-Frenette (Bathurst, NB) put the Crusaders on the board with 6:38 remaining in the first period to put Holy Cross down by one. Jon Landry (Lexington, MA) and R.J. Irving (Marlboro, MA) assisted on the Crusaders' first goal of the tournament. The score remained 2-1 through the second period. Holy Cross fired shots at the Concordia net but were unable to even the score before the end of the period. Holy Cross came out strong in the third period, attacking the Concordia defense in an effort to even the score. Andrew McKay (Bellefeuille, QUE) finally got one in the net two minutes into the period to tie the game at two. Irving picked up his second assist of the night. Neither team could score again in the third period, sending the game into a 4 on 4 overtime. A scoreless five minutes sent the game to a shootout. Jeff Dams (Manotick, ONT) stepped up first for the Crusaders but was stopped by Concordia goalie, Phillippe Ozga. Concordia came up short on their first attempt as well. Napert-Frenette came up next and scored for the Crusaders. Quesada held off another two Concordia shots, while Greg Kealey (Nepean, ONT) and Tyler McGregor (Ajax, ONT) scored the final two goals of the shootout to give Holy Cross the 3-2 win.

HC vs. Dalhousie: HC fell to Dalhousie University Sunday, 4-2, in their second game of the the Pierrefond Tournament. Dalhousie struck first when Jonah Leroux scored on a power play opportunity midway through the first period. The Tigers almost created a 2-0 lead when a shot bounced off the post before Holy Cross recovered the puck and evened the score at one with a goal by Greg Kealey (Nepean, ONT). Andrew McKay (Bellefeuille, QUE) picked up the assist on the goal. Scott Rissmiller (Belmont, MA) shot one off the post with seconds left in the period but was unable to give the Crusaders the lead going into the second period. Dalhousie took the 2-1 lead at the halfway mark of the second period. Rick Massey (Weymouth, MA) replaced Matt Norton (Pascoag, RI) in goal with nine minutes remaining in the period to play the second half of the game. Scott Wright scored the third goal of the night for the Tigers with just over eight minutes remaining in the second. Dalhousie took a three goal lead just three minutes later to head retained the three goal lead until six minutes left in the third period. The Crusaders pulled Massey with 6:33 left in the third to add an extra attacker. The Crusaders capitalized on a power play opportunity with six attackers on the ice. McKay made the score 4-2 when he found the back of the net off of assists from Jason Schuster (Hopkinton, MA) and Blair Bartlett (Dryden, ONT). Massey returned to goal as the Crusaders attempted to continue their third period comeback. Holy Cross pulled Massey once again with a minute remaining in hopes of once again capitalizing on an extra attacker up front. Despite close opportunities, the score remained 4-2 through the end of the game.

Mercyhurst: Mercyhurst rallied from a 2-0 second period deficit Sunday night, December 28, to get its first-ever win over RPI. The Lakers are now 1-3 lifetime against the Engineers. Mercyhurst will play Northeastern in the tournament championship game Monday, December 29, at 7:00pm. The Huskies defeated Mercyhurst 5-2 in their only prior meeting during the 2001-02 season at Northeastern. The Lakers are currently 3-3-2 on an eleven-game road trip. They haven't played at the Ice Center since November 15. Mercyhurst will visit Clarkson next Friday and Saturday to end the trip.

Quinnipiac: The Bobcats are off until January 2 when they return to action at Providence.

Sacred Heart: None Reported