Huskies' Coppola Earns Atlantic Hockey Co-Rookie of the Week (1/8/07)

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Atlantic Hockey Player of the Week

Jeff Gumaer - Bentley
Sophomore, Forward, Webster Grove, Mo. 

Gumaer recorded three points in back-to-back games with a goal and two assists in each of this weekend's games against Holy Cross, including an assist on the last-minute game-winning goal in Saturday's contest.

Atlantic Hockey Goaltender of the Week

Jason Smith - Sacred Heart
Senior, Goaltender, St. Lambert, QUE

Smith made 28 saves in the Pioneers upset of Cornell and allowed just one goal. His performance included 13 saves in the third period, propelling the Pioneers to their second win over an ECACHL team this year. Smith has now allowed just one goal in each of his last four games, posting a 3-0-1 record in that span. The hot streak has lowered his goals against average to 2.76.

Atlantic Hockey Co-Rookie of the Week

Jason Weeks - Canisius 
Freshman, Forward, Seattle, Wash.

Weeks recorded his first career hat trick and first career game-winning goal in a 4-3 Canisius victory Jan. 6, against Army. The hat trick was the first for the Golden Griffins since the 2000 season. The Seattle, Wash. native also set a school record with two shorthanded goals and has tied the program record with three shorthanded goals on the season.

Weekly Honor Roll

Eric Ehn, Air Force (Jr., F, Dexter, Mich.) - Scored the game-winner in Friday's game...His goal broke a 3-3 tie with 1:24 remaining in the third...Then scored the empty-net goal to seal the win...On Saturday, assisted on the first goal...Scored the third goal for a 3-0 goal late in the second period...Ehn has now scored in four straight games and 12 of the last 13...Ehn has 11 multiple-point games and six multi-goal games...Has 40 points this season in 22 games...Leads the nation in points and goals.

Jeff Hajner, Air Force (Fr., F, Las Vegas, Nev.) - Has a five-game point scoring streak, the longest of his career and the longest by any Falcon freshman this season...Scored the first goal in Friday's game to tie the score at 1-1 in the first period...On Saturday, assisted on Theo Zacour's game-winner in the second period.

Ben Worker, Air Force (Sr., G, Thief River Falls, Minn.) - First career start came on Saturday...Had played just seven minutes in two games in his previous four years. All seven minutes came last season...Career-best 18 saves...Led Falcons to first road sweep of the season and first even in AHA...Biggest save of the game came in the third period with the Falcons leading 3-1. On a short-handed breakaway, Worker made a big save and then started a rush up ice that led to a Laker penalty and ended the MC power play.

Jereme Tendler, American International (Jr., F, Viceroy, SASK) - Tallied two goals and an assist in a 5-4 setback to Connecticut Saturday.
 

Luke Flicek, Army (Jr., F, Burnsville, Minn.) - Flicek recorded three points this past weekend as Army went 1-1 opposite Canisius. He scored the game-winner and later picked up an assist as the Black Knights defeated the Golden Griffins, 5-1, in Buffalo for first time since Nov. 8, 2003. The Burnsville, Minn., native assisted on Ken Rowe's first career goal in Saturday's 4-3 loss.

Josh Kassel, Army (So., G, Greensburg, Pa.) - Kassel saved 41 of 46 shots this weekend guiding Army to a 1-1 record against Canisius. The sophomore netminder stopped 19 of 20 shots in Friday's 5-1 victory, including several big stops during the second period when the Black Knights were holding on to a 2-1 lead. He made 22 saves in Army's 4-3 loss on Saturday.

Eric Sefchik, Army (Fr., F, Brooklyn, Ohio) - Sefchik recorded a goal and an assist as Army split its weekend series with Canisius. The Brooklyn, Ohio, native logged an assist on Luke Flicek's game-winner in Friday's 5-1 victory. He scored his second career goal in the Black Knight's 4-3 setback on Saturday.

Nick Moise, Bentley (Fr., G, East Walpole, Mass) - Moise made 26 saves while allowing only two goals to earn the win over Holy Cross in his first career start.

James Sixsmith, Holy Cross (Sr., F, Alexandria, Va.) - Sixsmith had a five point weekend with three goals and two assists in the two games at Bentley. In the 7-4 win on Friday night, he scored two goals and added two assists, while he netted Holy Cross' first goal of the game on Saturday night. Sixsmith leads the team in assists (23) and points (33), while he is second in goals (10). His 1.57 points per game are tied for fourth in the nation and his 1.10 assists per game are second nationally.

Brodie Sheahan, Holy Cross (Fr., F, Lethbridge, ALB) - Sheahan had a goal and an assist in the two games at Bentley. On Friday night he had an assist, while on Saturday night he scored Holy Cross' second goal of the game to tie the game at 2-2 late in the third period. Sheahan has four goals and one assist for five points on the season.

Cody Collins, Mercyhurst (Fr., F, Winfield, BC) - Collins had a goal and an assist in Friday's 5-3 loss and assisted on Saturday's lone goal. He was just one of two Mercyhurst players to have a point in each game. His three-point weekend moved him into double digits with 11 points, most among Mercyhurst freshmen.

Jordan Wakefield, Mercyhurst (Sr., G, Spruce Grove, ALB) - Wakefield stopped a combined 88 of 95 shots (.926) in a pair of losses to Air Force. Four of the seven goals he allowed were power play.

Jocelyn Menard, R.I.T. (Jr., G, Quebec City, QUE) - Guimond made a season-high 33 stops, allowing just two goals in a 3-2 win over #16 Quinnipiac on Thursday. The junior netminder allowed a goal in the first two period but shut down a potent Quinnipiac offense in the third period, making 12 saves.

Steve Pinizzotto, R.I.T. (So., F, Mississauga, ONT) - Pinizzotto had three points this week, helping RIT to a 1-1-0 record versus two ranked opponents. The sophomore right-winger had a pair of assists in a 3-2 win over #16 Quinnipiac on Thursday. He backed that performance up with a goal on Saturday in a 5-3 loss to #19 Niagara University. His goal versus the Purple Eagles tied the score at 2-2. Pinizzitto has taken over the team lead in scoring with 24 points on nine goals and 15 assists. He has scored at least one point in the last nine games. The Tigers have gone 7-2-0 in that stretch.

Alexandre Parent, Sacred Heart (Jr., F, Boisbriand, QUE) - Parent scored the game winning goal against Cornell. The marker came 5:31 into third period on a redirected shot. It was his 10th goal of the year, making him the second Pioneer in double digits in goal scoring this year. Parent has 13 assists to go along with the 10 goals and his third on the team with 23 total points.

Team Notes

Air Force: AFA earned first road sweep of the season and the first one ever in AHA...The last road sweep was at Wayne State to end the 2005-06 season...Falcons won for the just the second time all season in the second game of a series...Prior to the weekend, AFA had not played in 27 days...AFA is 4-1-2 in last seven games...AFA's 11 wins in 22 games tie as the fastest to 11 wins since the 2000-01 team won 11 of its first 20 games...11 wins ties the win total from all last season and there are still 14 games left...Senior Ben Worker made his first career start on Saturday and earned a win, stopping 18 of 19 shots...Andrew Ramsey had three points in the series, all in Friday's game...Michael Mayra had two assists in Saturday's win, tying his career high...AFA was a +4 in special teams, scoring on 22 percent of its power plays while killing all six of Mercyhurst's chances...AFA's 55 shots on Friday are a season high...AFA won 63 percent of the faceoffs in the series...AFA's 14 PP chances are a season high...AFA plays at Holy Cross next week...AFA leads the series with Holy Cross, 9-4-2...However, Holy Cross took three points in the last meeting in 2004 in Holy Cross...AFA is 1-2-1 in the four games played at Holy Cross...In the last five meetings between AFA and Holy Cross, AFA is just 1-3-1.

American International: Jereme Tendler (Viceroy, Sask.) registered his 50th career point Saturday night against Connecticut with his three-point effort (2g, 1a). Tendler and Chad Richardson (Regina, Sask.) both registered their second multi-point games of the season Saturday, as Richardson had a goal and two assists. The 42 shots AIC registered Saturday were a season high, and the Yellow Jackets have had as many shots as their opponent in four of the last five contests. AIC has scored at least two goals in each of the last five games...the Yellow Jackets have suffered three one-goal losses this season, including two to Connecticut.

Army: The Black Knights posted their second straight 1-1 weekend in Atlantic Hockey play, splitting the season series with Canisius ... Friday night's victory marked the first time Army has defeated the Golden Griffins in Buffalo since Nov. 8, 2003 ... the Black Knights now stand at second place in the AHA standings tied with RIT and Air Force ... Brady Dolim scored two goals in Friday's win, giving the senior his first career two goal game ... freshman transfer Ken Rowe scored his first career goal at Army, he registered one career goal in his two seasons at Wisconsin ... Army scored two power play goals on Saturday giving them 10 games this season they have recorded two or more man-up ledgers ... the Black Knights host Mercyhurst next weekend for two games at West Point's Tate Rink.

Bentley: The Falcons split the rematch of last season's Atlantic Hockey championship game, falling to Holy Cross 7-4 on Friday and earning a 3-2 win on Saturday ... This weekend's series was the only meeting of the season between last year's finalists ... Saturday's win snapped a five-game losing streak ... Sophomore Pat Percella won the game for the Falcons, scoring with 26 seconds left in the third to break a tie and put Bentley up 3-2 ... Sophomore Jeff Gumaer had two three-point efforts in as many nights with a goal and two assists in each of this weekend's games ... Sophomore Nick Moise made his first career start in goal on Saturday and earned the win, making 26 saves and allowing only two goals ... The Falcons have a home-and-home series next weekend against American International, with the teams meeting on Friday in Springfield and Saturday in Watertown ...Bentley won last season's series with the Yellow Jackets, 2-1-1.

Canisius: For the fourth time in four home two-game conference series, Canisius split both contests as the Golden Griffins and Black Knights played their only two games of the regular season last weekend. The Griffs responded from a 5-1 loss to Army on Jan. 5 with a 4-3 come-from-behind victory over the Black Knights the following evening. Canisius scored the last three goals in the game and won for the first time under Dave Smith while trailing after the second period. Previously, the Griffs were 0-27-2 when behind heading into the third period under the second-year head coach. The last time Canisius used a third-period rally to win was March 4, 2005, also against Army. Jason Weeks (Seattle, Wash.) recorded a hat trick against Army - the first hat trick by a Canisius freshman since Feb. 19, 1999, by Chris Duggan. The hat trick by Weeks was the first by a Canisius player overall since 2000. Weeks also became the first Canisius player ever to have two shorthanded goals in a game and is the fifth player in Division I hockey to have two shorthanded goals in a game this season. Overall, Weeks has three on the season, which ties the Canisius single-season record currently held by Steve Birch during the 1999-2000 season. Weeks is tied for second in the country with the three shorthanded goals. For the season, Canisius has six shorthanded goals as a team, and the team record is eight, which last happened in 1997-98. Andrew Loewen (Winnipeg, Manitoba) started both games for the Griffs and has been in net for eight of the team's last nine conference games. Dave Cianfrini (Dundas, Ont.) had an assist in the Jan. 5 game against Army and had points in two straight games for the first time in his career. Canisius will have three chances to get its first road victory of the season as the Golden Griffins play at the Rochester Institute of Technology Tuesday and at Connecticut Friday and Saturday. Tuesday's game against RIT is the first mid-week conference game for the Griffs since Jan. 18, 2005, which came against Mercyhurst. RIT defeated Canisius 4-2 Oct. 27, earlier this season while the Griffs swept a two-game series at Connecticut last January.

Connecticut: The University of Connecticut men's hockey team won its third straight conference game following a 5-4 win at American International Saturday night. The three straight league wins marks the first time UConn has posted three or more consecutive conference win since December 2005. In that game, freshman Michael Coppola notched his first career hat trick, giving the Huskies three different players who have scored hat tricks this season. UConn is the only team in the conference that has more than one player register a hat trick. Also in that game, senior Matt Scherer tallied his 12th goal of the season and team-leading 20th point. Fellow senior Cole Koidahl tallied an assist in the contest for his team-leading 13th helper. Freshman goaltender Beau Erickson started his third consecutive game and tallied his second career win and a career-high 38 saves. The Huskies return to the ice Friday evening to begin a tow-game series with Canisius from the Freitas Ice Forum.

Holy Cross: Holy Cross wrapped up its nine game road trip with a split of two games at Bentley. The Crusaders will host Air force for two games at the Hart Center on January 12-13. This will be the first time Holy Cross has played at home since defeating Connecticut, 7-3, on November 21...Senior captain James Sixsmith now has 138 career points with 41 goals and 97 assists which ties him for third on the Holy Cross all-time Division I points list. The record is 143 set by current San Jose Shark Patrick Rissmiller (1998-2002). Sixsmith leads the team in assists (23) and points (33), while he is second in goals (10). His 1.57 points per game are tied for fourth in the nation and his 1.10 assists per game are second nationally...Senior Jon Landry's 1.19 points per game by a defenseman are second in the nation. For the season he has nine goals and 16 assists for 25 points as he is second on the team in assists and points. On Friday night he had a goal and four assists. Landry's 60 career assists rank ninth on Holy Cross' all-time Division I assists chart, while his 84 points are ranked 10th...Holy Cross' 23.0 power play percentage is fifth in the nation...Holy Cross scored five power play goals on 15 man-advantage opportunities this past weekend in the two games at Bentley.Mercyhurst: Mercyhurst has dropped 4 straight and 6 of its last 7. The Lakers haven't won since an 8-3 success at AIC December 2. After being assessed 4 minor penalties in Friday's game against Air Force, the Lakers were tagged with 16 penalties for 51 minutes Saturday. The 16 infractions tied a season high (16 for 32 at Holy Cross, 10-21) and the 51 minutes were the most in any game this season. 30 of the Falcon's 55 Saturday shots came on 14 power play attempts. Senior goalie Jordan Wakefield has now made 6 straight starts. Only junior forward Ryan Toomey and freshman winger Cody Collins had at least one point in each game of the Air Force series. The Lakers travel to Army next weekend for a pair of games. The Lakers lead the all-time series 14-5 but the Black Knights won three of four last season.

Rochester Institute of Technology: RIT posted a 1-1-0 record last week versus two ranked opponents. The Tigers are 1-3-0 versus ranked opponents this season and the win at Quinnipiac was RIT's first road win over a ranked opponent since making the leap to Division I last year.

Sacred Heart: The Pioneers opened the second half of the season with a 2-1 at Cornell Saturday night. It Sacred Heart's second win all-time over the Big Red and second win of the season over and ECACHL team for SHU. Junior Alexandre Parent scored the game winning goal early in the third period. Jason Smith made 28 saves and allowed just one goal. Smith has now allowed just one goal in each of his last three games. Senior Pierre-Luc O'Brien leads the team with 30 points. He has 142 career points, tying him for the most points in school history with Martin Paquet ‘03. He needs just two more assists to set a new school record for assists in a career (80), and just three more goals to break Paquet's school record for goals scored in a career (65). The assists mark was set by Jon Yackmack '97. Sacred Heart is unbeaten in their last six games, and has posted at least one point in 13 of it's last 14 contests. The Pioneers are in action three times this week, traveling to AIC on Tuesday night and then hosting a two game series with RIT in a first place showdown at the Milford Ice Pavilion Friday and Saturday night.