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Black Knights' Flicek Earned Atlantic Hockey Player of the Week (10/16/2006)
Atlantic Hockey Goaltender of the
Week
Josh Kassel - Army
Sophomore, Goaltender, Greensburg,
Pa.
Kassel backstopped Army to a win and a tie, helping the Black Knights earn three points in the league standings. Kassel stopped 57 of 59 shots and recorded a .966 save percentage. He shutout AIC, 2-0, on Friday evening before making 28 of his career-high 36 stops in the first two periods against Sacred Heart on Saturday.
Atlantic Hockey Rookie of the Week
Andrew Loewen -
Canisius
Freshman, Goaltender, Winnipieg, MAN
In his first collegiate start, Loewen stopped a school-record 61 shots against the RedHawks, breaking a 20-year-old record. Loewen also had 28 saves in the second period, which bested the school record of 24 saves set in February 2000.
Weekly Honor Roll
Eric Ehn, Air Force (Jr., F, Dexter, Mich.) - Ehn totaled three points for the Falcons weekend contests in Alaska. Eric scored a pair of power play goals in an 8-4 loss Saturday night, while also adding an assist.
Matt Scherer, Connecticut (Sr., F, Seattle, Wash.) - Scherer tied the game Friday night with a goal against Bowling Green. The Falcons would go on to win the game in overtime 2-1. He then picked up his second goal of the season in the midst of a five-goal comeback Saturday night against No. 6 Michigan.
Scott Tomes, Connecticut (Sr., G, Windham, N.H.) - Tomes allowed just five goals total against Bowling Green and Michigan while making a total of 62 saves. Last year the Falcons defeated UConn 9-2, but this season Tomes allowed just two Bowling Green goals, one of which came in overtime. He then held the mighty Michigan offense at bay for most of the second and third periods as he came on in relief of freshman Beau Erickson. Tomes held the Wolverines scoreless after they had taken a 6-0 lead. During the time Tomes held Michigan scoreless, the Huskies scored five consecutive goals to put themselves in a situation to tie or even win the game.
Dale Reinhardt, Holy Cross (Jr., F, Livingston, N.J.)
- Reinhardt scored a goal and added an assist in Holy
Cross' game at Niagara. He scored on the power play for the first
goal of the season for the Crusaders at just 2:53 into the first
period. He then assisted on Holy Cross' fourth goal of the
game.
Chris Risi, Mercyhurst (Fr., F, Thorold, ONT) - Risi scored his first collegiate points, a goal and an assist, in Saturday's 5-4 setback at Ferris State. He assisted on Mercyhurst's first goal of the game that trimmed FSU's lead to 2-1 in the first period. He then scored, unassisted, six minutes into the middle period to knot the contest at 3-3.
Joceyln Guimond - R.I.T. (Jr., G, Quebec City, QUE) - Guimond turned in an outstanding performance on Saturday in a 2-2 tie at Union College. The junior netminder made 47 saves, many from point blank range, allowing just two power play goals. He made a critical save in the overtime that preserved the tie.
Al Mazur - R.I.T. (Fr., D, Burnaby, BC) - Mazur tallied his first collegiate goal on Saturday at Union College. The goal came at 14:39 of the second period and tied the score after Union had scored two straight goals to take the lead. He crashed the net from his defense position and poked home a rebound.
Steve Pinizotto - R.I.T. (So., F, Mississauga, ONT) - Pinizzotto played a fine game on Saturday in a 2-2 tie at Union College. The sophomore winger got RIT on the board first at 8:24 of the first. He jammed home a nice feed, giving the Tigers a 1-0 lead. Pinizzotto also had the primary assist in the game-tying goal. He fed Al Mazur that tied the score at 2-2.
Stefan Drew - Sacred Heart (So., G, Dugald, MAN) - Drew made the most of his first start of the year, making an impressive 29 saves against Army to help the Pioneers preserve a tie on Saturday night. His performance included 11 saves in the first period when the Black Knights made a fast start, and 10 in the third period as the game came down the stretch.
Peter Ferraro - Sacred Heart (Sr., F, Pleasantville, N.Y.) - Ferraro was half of the Pioneer scoring output for the weekend, scoring the first goal in each game. Ferraro's two goals bring him to one third of his total for last season when he scored six for the year. Ferraro was the only Pioneer to register multiple goals on the weekend.
Nick Johnson - Sacred Heart (Fr., F, Windsor, Conn.) - Johnson had an impressive opening weekend to his career, registering a goal an assist in two games. Friday night, Johnson scored the Pioneers second goal to ignite a comeback that fell just short against UMass. Saturday he assisted on the game tying goal early in third period that allowed the Pioneers the chance to leave West Point with one point in the standings. Team Notes
Air Force: AFA was shutout for the first time this season and the first time since losing 3-0 to Army, Nov. 11, 2005...Brian Gineo scored his first goal of the season on Saturday...AFA has now 0-10 in games played in Fairbanks...Erich Ehn (seven point) and Andrew Ramsey (six points) have combined for 13 of the team's 26 points this season...Freshman goalie Andrew Volkening saw his first collegiate action on Oct. 14 at Alaska. He gave up two goals and made nine saves in 19 minutes...Falcons open conference play this weekend vs. Bentley at the Cadet Ice Arena...AFA and Bentley have played nine times and Air Force is 6-2-1 in those games... Bentley is 1-0-1 in the last two, winning 3-1 last season and tying 2-2 in 2004. AFA is 2-1 in games played at the Academy...The game is Air Force's first ever in the Atlantic Hockey Association.
Army: The Black Knights picked up three points in their opening weekend of Atlantic Hockey competition, including a tie with Sacred Heart, who many consider to be one of the best teams in the league ... sophomore goalie Josh Kassel made 57 saves in two games and recorded a .966 save percentage ... Army is unbeaten after its first weekend of league competition since 2003-04 ... Counting its two exhibition wins over Ryerson, the Black Knights have allowed just three goals in four games ... junior forward Luke Flicek scored two power play goals in a 2-0 win over AIC and assisted on the go-ahead goal against Sacred Heart in the third period. He authored a three-point weekend offensively for the Black Knights.
Bentley: The Falcons lost their season opener for the first time since 2003 ... Freshman Blake Hamilton scored a goal in his first shift of his first collegiate game, marking the third season in a row that a freshman has scored for the Falcons in their first collegiate game ... Bentley is now 0-2 all-time against Colgate ... The Falcons are in the midst of a five-game road trip to open the season ... This weekend, the team opens its Atlantic Hockey schedule at Air Force in the Battle of the Falcons. It will be Bentley's first trip to Colorado Springs since 2002 ... Bentley is 2-6-1 all-time against Air Force, but has not lost in the last two meetings ... Air Force has won the last two meetings between the teams at Cadet Ice Arena.
Canisius: Canisius dropped two games at No. 9/10 Miami last weekend in the first-ever games between the schools. The contests were played at the new $34.6 million Steve Cady Arena. Freshman Andrew Loewen (Winnipeg, Manitoba) made his first collegiate start and stopped 61 of 64 shots against the RedHawks, setting a school record. The previous mark was held by Bob Harrington who stopped 60 against Oswego State Feb. 8, 1986. The old school record on the Division I level was 58 saves by Sean Weaver against Niagara Feb. 24, 2000. Loewen also set the school record for saves in a period with 28, besting the mark of 24 by Weaver on that same night. Two freshmen scored their first college goals for the Griffs - Jason Weeks (Seattle, Wash.) and Josh Heidinger (Buffalo, N.Y.). Weeks' goal came shorthanded and gave him points in his first two collegiate games - the second-straight year the Griffs have had a freshman accomplish that feat. Spencer Churchill (Brantford, Ont.) had assists in his first two games last season. Heidinger's goal came late in Saturday's first period on the power play against Miami and gave the Griffs the early lead. All four goals this season and five of the team's seven assists have been recorded by freshmen. Canisius was on the penalty kill numerous times throughout the weekend, especially in Saturday night's game. Miami had 26 power plays in the two games - including 15 on Saturday, which led to 22:55 of power plays for the RedHawks. The 15 power plays were the most by a Canisius opponent in the last seven seasons. The Griffs open their conference play next weekend against Sacred Heart at the Buffalo State Sports Arena.
Holy Cross: Senior captain James Sixsmith had three assists in the Niagara game giving him 77 for his career. Sixsmith now has 108 career points moving him to 33rd all-time at Holy Cross. His 3 assists per game are tied for first in the nation...The Crusaders will play eight of their next 11 games at the Hart Center...The Crusaders will host Mercyhurst for two games this weekend as Friday night will mark Holy Cross' Atlantic Hockey and home opener. The Crusaders are 22-15-3 all-time in home openers. This is the second time that the Crusaders' home opener has also been their AHA opener. The first time occurred last season when Holy Cross defeated Army, 1-0, on October 28, 2005. The Crusaders are 3-0 in AHA openers with a 3-1 win at Canisius on October 11, 2003, a 3-1 win at AIC on November 5, 2004 and last year's 1-0 victory over Army.
Mercyhurst: The Lakers have now lost all four meetings against Ferris State, two by 5-4 scores. Freshmen forwards Chris Risi and Neil Graham registered their first collegiate assists Saturday. Mercyhurst struggled on its power play at FSU, going a combined 1 of 16 (.062) in the two games. Mercyhurst proved very opportunistic in Saturday's second game, scoring four goals on only 20 shots (.200). The Lakers travel to Holy Cross next weekend to begin Atlantic Hockey play. The teams split a weekend series there last year, but the Crusaders won the season series 2-1-1 on their way to a one-point verdict over the Lakers in the race for the regular season conference title. Mercyhurst still leads the all-time series 14-7-2.
Rochester Instit. of Tech.: RIT goalkeeper Jocelyn Guimond made 47 saves versus Union College. The junior netminder was the key in RIT's tie versus the Dutchmen. RIT took a 1-0 lead early in the first but they let up two power play goals in the second, relinquishing the lead. RIT was out shot 49-27 but Guimond held Union in check earning their first point of the season. RIT opens Atlantic Hockey Association play this weekend when they host American International College for a weekend series this Friday and Saturday. Last year RIT defeated the Yellow Jackets 5-0 in Springfield, Massachusetts.
Sacred Heart: The Pioneers dropped their season opener to UMass Friday night before rebounding to tie Army, 2-2 on Saturday in their Atlantic Hockey Opener. Peter Ferraro was the top Pioneer performer of the weekend, scoring two goals, while freshman Nick Johnson made an impressive debut in his rookie season, registering a goal and an assist. Stefan Drew made the most of his first start, registering 29 saves Saturday night to earn the Pioneers a draw with the Black Knights. Sacred Heart has had trouble at West Point recently, going 0-2-1 in their last three visits and only scoring three goals in those games. The Pioneers head to Buffalo this weekend for a pair of games against AHA rival Canisius. The Pioneers swept the season series from the Golden Griffs last year.
