Atlantic Hockey Update Through March 7

March 8, 2004

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2004 Atlantic Hockey Championship Tournament

Atlantic Hockey concluded its first season of play over the weekend. All nine member institutions played their final regular-season games of 2003-2004 season.

The teams now turn their attention to the Atlantic Hockey Championship Tournament. The Atlantic Hockey Tournament champion will receive the league's automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament. Army’s Tate Rink will host all rounds of the Atlantic Hockey Championship beginning Friday, March 12 at 7 p.m. with the Play-In round. Quarterfinal and semifinal action is to follow on March 13 and 14. The final two teams will have a week off to prepare for the championship game on Saturday, March 20 at 7 p.m.

The College of the Holy Cross earned the top seed after finishing the regular season 17-4-3. The Play-In round between #9 seed American International College (3-17-4) and #8 seed United States Military Academy (6-15-3) will determine the Crusaders' quarterfinal opponent.

Quarterfinal match-ups are as follows: #5 University of Connecticut (9-10-5) faces off with #4 Sacred Heart University (12-8-4) at 10 a.m. In the second quarterfinal, #6 Canisius College (9-11-4) will play #3 Quinnipiac University (12-6-6) at 1:15 p.m. Top seed Holy Cross will play the winner of the Play-In round at 5:30 p.m. and #7 Bentley (7-13-4) skates against #2 Mercyhurst (16-7-1) at 8:45 p.m.

At the conclusion of the quarterfinals, the teams will be re-seeded. The semifinal round takes place Sunday, March 14 with games times at 4:30 and 7:45 p.m.

2004 Atlantic Hockey Championship Tournament

# 1 Holy Cross (17-4-3)

# 2 Mercyhurst (16-7-1)

# 3 Quinnipiac (12-6-6)

# 4 Sacred Heart (12-8-4)

# 5 Connecticut (9-10-5)

# 6 Canisius (9-11-4)

# 7 Bentley (7-13-4)

# 8 Army (6-15-3)

# 9 American International (3-17-4)

Play-In Round, Friday, March 12

Game 1: #9 American International vs. #8 Army - 7 p.m.

Quarterfinals, Saturday, March 13

Game 2: #5 Connecticut vs. #4 Sacred Heart - 10 a.m.

Game 3: #6 Canisius vs. #3 Quinnipiac - 1:15 p.m.

Game 4: Winner of the Play-In Round vs. #1 Holy Cross - 5:30 p.m.

Game 5: #7 Bentley vs. #2 Mercyhurst - 8:45 p.m.

Semifinals, Sunday, March 14

Teams will be re-seeded after quarterfinals.

Game 6: Game time - 4:30 p.m.

Game 7: Game time - 7:45 p.m.

Championship, Saturday, March 20

Game 8: Winners of the two semifinal games - 7 p.m.

Player of the Week

Tim Olsen, Connecticut (Jr., F, Vadnais Heights, Minn.) – Olsen led the Huskies to two victories over the weekend, scoring twice and adding an assist in UConn’s 6-1 defeat of AIC, and scoring three goals and adding an assist in a 9-6 win at Army. The hat trick was Olsen’s second of the season, and third of his two-year career at UConn. He currently leads the team with 20 goals and 21 assists, and ranks ninth among all Division I players in points per game with 1.24 ppg.

Others Nominated: Andy Walbert, AIC; David Wrigley, Mercyhurst.

Co-Goaltenders of the Week

Simon St. Pierre, Bentley (Jr., G, Montreal, QUE) – Rebounded from a tough game against Mercyhurst last weekend, with his first shutout of the season and fifth of his career on Saturday against Holy Cross. Army’s Jon Boyle scored at 18:00 of the second period on Friday and after that St. Pierre was not scored on, a span of 86:27. For the weekend, St. Pierre stopped 62 of 63 shots (.984) including 34 on Saturday against the Crusaders. In the first period against HC he stopped 17 shots and added two more in the overtime session.

Jamie Holden, Quinnipiac (Jr., G, Telkwa, B.C.) - Holden took advantage of both starts that he made last week, guiding the Bobcats to a 2-0 mark. He matched a season-high with 45 stops in a 5-2 win over Sacred Heart on Tuesday. Friday night, he followed that up with a 41 save effort in a 2-1 win over Holy Cross. For the week, he stopped 86 of 89 shots that came his way, with two of those markers coming on the power play. In the process, Holden capped an amazing league slate in which he went 9-4-3 with a 1.91 GAA and a .942 save percentage. For the season, overall, he is 11-7-3 with a 2.38 GAA and a .931 save percentage.

Others Nominated: Ben Conway, Holy Cross; Andy Franck, Mercyhurst.

Freshman of the Week

Carmen Posteraro, Bentley, (Fr., F, Pittsburgh, PA) - Recorded four points in two Bentley wins over the weekend, including a goal and two assists in Bentley’s win at Army Friday night. Posteraro assisted on teammate Joe Lovell’s game-winning goal in overtime to lift Bentley to a 1-0 win over Holy Cross Saturday night. He is currently tied for the team-lead with 22 points on 10 goals and 11 assists. Friday night was Posteraro’s fifth multi-point game of the season and the second in which he tallied three points.

Others Nominated: Brian Burns, Connecticut; Jordan Wakefield, Mercyhurst.

Team Notes

American International: Andy Walbert (Ford City, Pa.) closed out the regular season for AIC in style as he recorded all four Yellow Jacket goals in a 4-4 tie with Sacred Heart on Saturday night. The sophomore tied a Division I-high for goals in a game this season and also became the first AIC player to record four goals in a contest since Joe Wlodarczyk did so against Assumption in a 9-4 win on December 2, 1997. Jeff Valdes (East Falmouth, Mass.) assisted on all four tallies while Jeason Lecours (Sherbrooke, Quebec) and Anthony Rufrano (Niagara Falls, Ontario) each notched a pair of helpers. Walbert also had AIC's lone goal in a loss at Connecticut on Friday night. Junior Frank Novello (Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario) turned away 45 of the 49 shots he faced against the Pioneers. American International now prepares for the inaugural Atlantic Hockey tournament. The Yellow Jackets will face host Army in a first round game at 7:00 on Friday night with the winner of that contest advancing to face top-seeded Holy Cross on Saturday.

Army: Army dropped both of its contests over the weekend, falling 5-1 to Bentley on Friday and 9-6 to Connecticut on Saturday. The Black Knights finish the regular season in eighth place and will play American International College in the first round of the Atlantic Hockey Championships on Friday, March 12. It is the fourth consecutive season that the Black Knights have qualified for the playoffs, the second-longest string in school history (5 years: 1974-78). Army drew 36,617 fans to Tate Rink this winter. That is the highest total attendance figure at the Academy since the 1999-2000 season (38,685). The Black Knights’ average of 2,034 per night is the first time that Army averaged better than 2,000 per home contest since 1997-98 (2,081). The 15 goals scored in Saturday night’s contest between Army and UConn marked the highest scoring game in the league this season, topping the old mark of 11 goals set on eight other occasions. Army’s six goals on Saturday was the second highest total of the season behind the nine it scored against Ryerson in the second game of the year. Army has six power play goals in its last six games. The Black Knights converted their first three opportunities Saturday night, marking the third time this season that Army scored three power play goals in a game. Junior Chris Casey posted his second career hat trick in the loss to UConn. That ties his career high for goals in a game. Sophomore defenseman Corey Rudd registered a career-high two goals against the Huskies and junior Chad Mayfield tied a career high with three assists and three points. Senior forward Jon Boyle has registered a point in nine of his last 11 games and has 12 points during that span. He has been the most consistent performer for the Black Knights offensively this season. Freshman Ryan Cruthers has picked up a point in five of his last seven contests. Army is 8-6-2 when he pencils his name in on the score sheet. Sophomore Seth Beamer leads the team in scoring with 25 points. His three-point effort against UConn was the third time this year that he recorded three or more points in a game this season.

Bentley: Bentley capped off the regular season with a pair of outstanding wins, the first on the road against Army, 5-1 and the second a thrilling 1-0 overtime win at home against top-ranked Holy Cross. The Holy Cross game was the first 1-0 overtime win for Bentley in the program’s history. With two wins this weekend, Bentley secured the seventh spot in the Atlantic Hockey tournament which gets underway this weekend and snapped a three-game losing streak. The Falcons will face Mercyhurst College in the Quarterfinals, March 13 in a rematch of last season’s semifinal contest. In the win Friday against Army, five Falcons recorded at least two points. Sophomore Brendan McCartin increased his point total with a pair of goals and is tied with freshman Carmen Posteraro for the team lead with 22 points. Posteraro had a big game on Friday with a goal and two assists. Sophomores Josh Chase and Ryan Mayhew each tallied a goal and a helper and defensemen Kyle Larman and Ryan Kelly each chipped in with two assists. The 5-1 score was the largest differential in a Bentley win this season, surpassing the 6-3 win over AIC in October. On Saturday, the Falcons and Crusaders skated scoreless for 60 minutes and an additional four minutes and 27 seconds in overtime before Bentley co-captain Joe Lovell tipped in teammate Ryan Lessnau’s slap shot with 33 seconds left to lift the Falcons to victory. It was Lovell’s first goal since returning from a nine-game absence due to injury and it was senior night for Lovell, and classmates Bobby DeLong and goalie Bill Bridge. Posteraro picked up an assist on Lovell’s goal and finished the weekend with four points. Junior goaltender Simon St. Pierre rebounded from a tough game against Mercyhurst last weekend, with his first shutout of the season and fifth of his career on Saturday

Canisius: Canisius had its four-game winning streak snapped last weekend in a pair of losses to Mercyhurst College in a home-and-home series with the Lakers. Canisius lost by scores of 6-1 and 2-1. Freshman Joey Coccimiglio (Sault Ste. Marie, Ont.) scored the lone Canisius goal in Friday's 6-1 loss in Erie, Pa., while junior Mark Persick (Yorkton, Sask.) has Saturday's single goal in the 2-1 defeat. The two losses allowed Connectciut to move into fifth place in Atlantic Hockey and the Griffs fall to the #6 seed and will face Quinnipiac University Saturday afternoon at 1:15 p.m. in the 2004 Atlantic Hockey Tournament at West Point.

Connecticut: UConn pulled off a fifth-place finish in the league standings by going 7-1-2 in their final 10 games of the season. This past weekend, the Huskies dominated AIC in their final home game, winning by a score of 6-1. Junior leading-scorer Tim Olsen tallied two goals and an assist in the contest, and junior Mark Murphy tallied two assists. Freshman Cole Koidahl, returning to action after missing 11 games with a leg injury, recorded an assist. Senior Jason Carey saw his first time in net since late November, relieving freshman goaltender Scott Tomes in the third period to record some minutes in the final home game of his career. He made eight stops and allowed no goals in 20 minutes of action. Against Army on Saturday night, the Huskies needed to win the game and have Canisius lose to Mercyhurst in order to clinch the fifth spot, and got both. Olsen recorded a hat trick and an assist in a 9-6 win at Army. Murphy finished with a goal and three assists, freshman Matt Scherer scored once and tallied two assists, and freshmen Brian Burns, James Martin and Bill Magnuson all scored once and added an assist. The Black Knights rallied early in the third to tie the game at 6-6, but Burns scored the game-winner for UConn, and then Magnuson and Olsen scored the final two goals of the game to ice the win for the Huskies. UConn will now take on Sacred Heart in the AHA Tournament, a team they have twice been defeated by and once tied with this season.

Holy Cross: Holy Cross dropped two games over the weekend, falling to Quinnipiac 2-1 in the last home game of the season for the Crusaders. The game began by honoring the eight members of the Crusader senior class. Greg Kealey (Nepean, ONT) put HC on the board first, firing a shot past Jamie Holden for the 1-0 lead. Quinnipiac came back to score two goals in the third period to collect the win. Saturday night, Holy Cross lost to Bentley, 1-0, in overtime. Ben Conway (South Hadley, MA) played strong in net for the Crusaders, collecting 30 saves and holding off Bentley until the final 33 seconds of overtime when Bentley scored to take the win.

Mercyhurst: Mercyhurst swept the regular season series against Canisius 3-0 and outscored the Ice Griffs a collective 12-3. The Lakers lead the all-time series 23-10-3. Mercyhurst will oppose Bentley in the AH quarterfinals next Saturday at Army. The Lakers swept the season series against the Falcons 3-0 (2-1, 3-2, and 7-1) and lead the all-time series 14-3-1. The quarterfinal matchup next Saturday will be the second straight year the two teams have met in the conference playoffs. The Lakers downed Bentley 10-2 in the MAAC Hockey League semifinals last year at Army. Mercyhurst has won eleven road games this season (11-10-1) and was 2-0 at Army's Tate Rink.

Quinnipiac: Quinnipiac closed the regular season with two wins and is unbeaten in its last six (4-0-2) games heading into the Atlantic Hockey tournament...The Bobcats finished as the No. 3 seed, marking the first time since moving to Division I that it did not finish first or second. Junior forward Rob Hammel tallied his first career two-goal game against SHU on Tuesday... Senior Ryan Morton also found the back of the net twice against the Pioneers....On Friday, Quinnipiac rallied from a 1-0 third period deficit and trip Holy Cross. Matt Craig netted his team-best 13th goal of the year and was followed by John Kelly's game-winner with 3:19 left.

Sacred Heart: The Sacred Heart Pioneers closed out the regular season with a 0-1-1 week that saw them lose to Quinnipiac 5-2 on Tuesday night and tie American International 4-4 on Saturday night in the regular season finale. The Pioneers trailed Quinnipiac 4-0 when they got on the board in the third period on power play goals from Garrett Larson and Rocco Molinaro, but it wasn’t enough as the Bobcats added an empty net goal for the 5-2 win. SHU then traveled to AIC where they held a 4-2 third period lead before Andy Walbert netted his third and fourth goal of the game to tie it at 4-4. The Pioneers out shot Quinnipiac 47-21 and out shot the Yellow Jackets 49-20, but thanks to stellar play between the pipes, by Jamie Holden of QU and Frank Novello of AIC, Sacred heart was unable to get in the win column in the final week of the regular season. The Pioneers will now gear up for the Atlantic hockey Tournament where they will take on Connecticut in the Quarterfinal round on Saturday, March 13th.