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Atlantic Hockey Player of the Week

Andrew Ramsey - Air Force
Senior, Forward, Noblesville, Ind. 

Had a hand in on both of AFA's goals on Friday in 4-2 loss ... Tied his career-best with four points on Saturday with 2-2-4...Had a hand in on four of the five goals in the game ... Had a hand in on six of the seven goals in the series ... Team-high 13 shots in the series ... His four points on the weekend brought his season total to a career-best 40 points ... Scored his 100th career point with a goal on Friday ... Now has 104 career points.

Atlantic Hockey Goaltender of the Week

Josh Kassel - Army 
Sophomore, Goaltender, Greensburg, Pa. 

Kassel turned aside 43 of the 46 shots that he faced helping Army sweep Bentley this past weekend. The sophomore made 21 saves in the Black Knights 3-1 victory on Friday then came out Saturday and stopped 22 shots in a 4-2 win. The Greensburg, Pa., native has now held opponents to 2 or less goals in 13 games this season and is 14-7-4 in AHA action with a 2.25 goals against average and a .916 save percentage.

Weekly Honor Roll
 

Ben Worker, Air Force (Sr., G, Thief River Falls, Minn.) - Second career shutout in the win on Saturday. First was Jan. 27 at Bentley ... Stopped all 21 shots he faced to end a five-game losing skid ... Has now started 10 of the last 13 games ... Earned his first win since the Bentley game on Jan. 27 ... Had lost three straight games prior to tonight ... His 2.36 goals-against average and .892 sv% are the best on the team.

Jereme Tendler, American International (Jr., F, Viceroy, SASK) - Tallied the game-winning goal 30 seconds into overtime in Friday's 3-2 overtime win over Connecticut. Also added an assist in Saturday's 2-2 tie with the Huskies.

Luke Flicek, Army (Jr., F, Burnsville, Minn.) - Flicek had a three point weekend as Army swept Bentley and clinched home ice for the quarter-finals of the AHA tournament. The junior figured on all three goals in Friday night's 3-1 win over the Falcons. He registered assists on Bryce Hollweg and Casey Bickley's goals and then tallied his own to end the scoring Friday night. The Burnsville, Minn., native leads the team in goals, assists and points with 12 goals, 18 assists and 32 points (all career bests).

Ken Rowe, Army (Jr., F, Faribault, Minn.) - Rowe recorded the first multi-point effort of his Army career with two goals in Saturday's 4-2 win over Bentley. The Faribault, Minn., native scored his first goal of the night to even the score at 1-1 midway through the first period. He tallied his second marker of the night in the third period to secure the outcome and give Army a 4-2 victory. After being held scoreless through Army's first 20 games, Rowe now has 5 goals in his last nine games played.

Anthony Canzoneri, Bentley (So., F, Homer Glen, Ill.) - Canzoneri scored a goal and added an assist on Saturday.

Jason Kearney, Bentley (So., G, Gibsonia, Pa.) - Kearney made a season-high 35 saves on Friday.

Billy Irish-Baker, Canisius (Sr., F, Clarence, N.Y.) - Irish-Baker led the team with two points on the weekend and tied his career high with two helpers in the 4-2 win for Canisius over Air Force Feb. 16.

James Sixsmith, Holy Cross (Sr., F, Alexandria, Va.) - Sixsmith had a three-point weekend with two goals and an assist in the home-and-home series with Sacred Heart. On Friday, he scored the Crusaders' first goal and assisted on their second, while on Saturday he netted his 15th goal of the season.

Mike Ella, Mercyhurst (Sr., G, Schomberg, ONT) - Ella made his second start of the season and made 27 saves in 3-2 win at #1 RIT Saturday. It was Ella's first win since a 4-3 decision at Canisius December 10, 2005.

Chris Risi, Mercyhurst (Fr., F, Thorold, ONT) - Risi had the first two-goal game and first three-point game of his career Friday in 6-5 loss at RIT.

Brent Robinson, Mercyhurst (So., F, Alton, ONT) - Robinson had first three-point game of his career, all assists, in 6-5 loss at RIT Friday.

Simon Lambert, RIT (Jr., F, Ste-Therese, QUE) - Lambert had an outstanding weekend for the RIT as the Tigers went 1-1-0. On Friday Lambert had two goals and assist as RIT erased a 4-1 deficit to defeat Mercyhurst 6-5. On Saturday Lambert scored a power play goal but it wasn't enough as RIT fell to the Lakers 3-2. Lambert is second on the team in scoring with 39 points on 16 goals and 23 assists. He's second on the team with nine power play goals and 16 goals.

Peter Ferraro, Sacred Heart (Sr., F, Pleasantville, N.Y.) - Ferraro led the Pioneer offense with a goal and two assists in the weekend sweep of Holy Cross. Ferraro scored the game winning goal Friday night in Worcester and assisted on two goals, including the game winner on Saturday night. Ferraro now has five goals and eight assists, eight points on the season.

Dave Jarman, Sacred Heart (Fr., F, Toronto, ONT) - Jarman turned in his second straight multi-point weekend, tallying a goal and assist against Holy Cross. Jarman scored a goal in the second period of Friday's game that tied the game for SHU after they trailed 3-1. Saturday night he assisted on the goal that again brought the Pioneers back from a one goal deficit. Jarman leads all Pioneer rookies with 19 points, 9 goals and 10 assists.

Jason Smith, Sacred Heart (Sr., G, St. Lambert, QUE) - Smith made 23 saves to backstop the Pioneers to Saturday night's win over Holy Cross. It was Smith 36th career victory, tying the Sacred Heart school record.

Team Notes

Air Force: AFA ended its five-game losing skid with the 5-0 win over Canisius ... The two teams split the season series ... The win was AFA's first since a 2-0 win at Bentley on Jan. 27 ... It was also the first shutout since that game ... AFA has shutout four opponents this season ... Saturday's attendance of 2,124 was the fourth-highest of the season ... Andrew Ramsey scored his 100th career point with a goal on Friday and now has 104 points in his career ... With five points in the series, Eric Ehn is again the nation's top scorer with 22 goals, 33 assists and 55 points ... Ehn's 55 points this season are the most in 27 years when Bob Sajevic had 64 in 1979-80 ... Ehn's 33 assists are the most by a Falcon in 12 years. Defenseman Beau Bilek had 33 in 1993-94. They are the most by a forward in 27 years when Bob Sajevic had 33 in 1979-80 ... Mike Phillipich returned to the lineup after missing two games with an injury and scored the game-winner on Saturday, his second of the season ... AFA killed all six Canisius power plays on Saturday, the first time the Falcons did not allow a PPG in five games ... Saturday night was the final home regular-season game for eight Falcon seniors: Billy Devoney, Peter Foster, Brian Gineo, Jay Medenwaldt, Andrew Ramsey, Brian Reese, Ben Worker and Theo Zacour ... The class has won more Division I games than any other in school history (53) ... AFA's 14 Division I wins this season ties the school record set several times under Frank Serratore, most recently in 2004-05 ... AFA has three goalies with four wins this season: Ben Worker, Peter Foster and Ian Harper.

American International: AIC is 5-5-1 over its last 11 Atlantic Hockey contests ... AIC is now 2-0-9 in its last 11 overtime contests dating back to the 2004-05 season with Friday night's overtime win and Saturday night's tie with Connecticut ... the Yellow Jackets last lost in overtime December 4, 2004 against Mercyhurst ... Friday night's win over the Huskies came after AIC rallied from a 2-0 deficit and a 2-1 deficit at the second intermission ... it marked the first time this season the Yellow Jackets have won when trailing after two periods ... Jereme Tendler (Viceroy, SK) had the game-winning goal Friday night, the eighth game-winning goal of his career ... AIC has not been shut out in its last 18 contests, the longest streak since a span between the 2001-02 and 2002-03 seasons, and it has scored at least two goals 16 times over that stretch ... the Yellow Jackets have won three in a row at home ... AIC and Wayne State (Mich.) became the last teams to record a tie in Division I this season when both recorded ties Saturday, AIC tying UConn 2-2 and the Warriors tying Niagara 4-4 ... AIC faced a nationally-ranked opponent for the first time Tuesday when it visited No. 20 Quinnipiac.

Army: The Black Knights swept Bentley this past weekend to clinch home ice for the quarter-finals of the AHA tournament for the first time in school history ... with the two wins Army also secured no worse than a third place finish in the final standings and a No. 2 seed in the upcoming conference tournament ... the Black Knight's also improved to 10-1-4 at Tate Rink this season and have a seven-game unbeaten streak at home ... Luke Flicek recorded his first three point game of the season with a goal and two assists in Friday nights win ... Bryce Hollweg tallied his seven multi-point effort of the season with a goal and an assist on Friday ... Robb Ross registered his second career play-maker with three assists on Saturday night ... Ken Rowe picked up the first multi-point effort of his career with two goals in Saturday's win ... Josh Kassel allowed only three goals on 46 shots faced ... he now ranks 16th in the nation with a 2.27 goals against average and 21st with a .916 save percentage ... the team's scoring defense improved to 15th in the country holding its opponents to 2.45 goals a game ... Army faces Sacred Heart next weekend in a home and home series to close out the 2006-07 regular season ... if the Black Knights can sweep the Crusaders they will earn the No. 1 seed in the upcoming AHA tournament ... Army enters the weekend on a three game unbeaten streak while Sacred Heart has won its last four contests.

Bentley: The Falcons were swept by Army this weekend, losing 3-1 on Friday and dropping a 4-2 decision on Saturday ... Bentley can now finish anywhere from sixth to ninth in the standings with two games left on the schedule, at home against RIT ... The Falcons can clinch a first-round bye with one win or two ties against RIT or with a Mercyhurst win over Canisius ... Sophomore Jason Kearney made a season-high 35 saves on Friday ... Bentley and RIT skate on Friday and Saturday at 7 p.m. at Ryan Skating Arena in Watertown, Mass. ... The Falcons and Tigers split their series earlier this season in Rochester, N.Y.

Canisius: Canisius split a weekend series at Air Force as the two teams split their season series as well. Last weekend's games were the first in the state of Colorado for Canisius. Billy Irish-Baker (Clarence, N.Y.) led the team with two points in the 4-2 win Feb. 16. He tied his career high in assists with the two helpers. In the game, the Griffs tallied 12 points and had 11 different players record a point in the contest. Canisius also scored three first-period goals for the first time this season and for the first time since Nov. 8, 2005, at Bentley. Spencer Churchill (Brantford, Ont.) scored the game-winning goal in the win over the Falcons. It was the first game-winner of the sophomore's career. Andrew Loewen (Winnipeg, Manitoba) started both games in net and has now started the last six games for the Blue and Gold. That streak is a career long for the freshman and is the longest since Bryan Worosz closed the 2004-05 season with 13 consecutive starts. During his six-start stretch, Loewen is 3-3 with a .923 save percentage and a 2.51 goals against average. In the month of February, Canisius has split its six games, has a 21.4 power-play percentage and has a 87.5 penalty-kill percentage. The Griffs close out their regular season with a Saturday game at rival Mercyhurst. It is the 48th all-time meeting between the rivals, the most-common opponent for the Canisius hockey program.

Connecticut: The University of Connecticut men's hockey team secured home ice in the quarter-finals of the Atlantic Hockey Tournament for the first time since becoming a member of the league after picking up a point this weekend against American International. The Huskies dropped the first game, 3-2, in overtime Friday night in Springfield, but rebounded with a 2-2 tie Saturday evening at the Freitas Ice Forum. Friday night's game saw the Huskies open up a 2-0 lead over AIC, but the Yellow Jackets responded with three unanswered goals, including the game-winner 30 seconds into overtime, for their first win over the Huskies this season. The following night, senior Matt Scherer tallied an assist on UConn's first goal of the night to up his career total to 99 points. He is just one point shy of becoming only the 27th player in UConn hockey history to record 100 or more points. Scherer will get his opportunity to join that club when the Huskies return to the ice Friday evening to host Holy Cross on Senior Night. UConn will play its final regular season game Saturday evening with a trip to Holy Cross.

Holy Cross: Senior James Sixsmith had a three-point weekend with two goals and an assist in the home-and-home series with Sacred Heart. He leads the team in assists (29) and points (44), while he is tied for lead in goals (15). His 1.38 points per game are tied for fifth in the nation and his .91 assists per game are tied for fourth nationally. Sixsmith's 29 assists are tied for second on the Holy Cross Division I single-season assists list. The record is 30 set by current San Jose Shark Patrick Rissmiller in the 2001- 02 season. Sixsmith who already holds the Holy Cross Division I points record, is now ninth on the Holy Cross all-time points list with 149 career points. Holy Cross' five seniors Tanner Fogarty, Rob Godfrey, Jon Landry, Sean Nappo and captain James Sixsmith are one of the most successful classes in the history of Holy Cross men's hockey. They have been a part of 75 wins, two Atlantic Hockey titles, two NCAA Tournaments and one NCAA Tournament victory. Their 75 wins is the second most in a four- year period in school-history.

Mercyhurst: Mercyhurst snapped a 7-game regular season losing streak at RIT dating to December 4, 1992 when both teams were Division III and members of the ECAC. Senior goalie Mike Ella made his second start of the season and made 27 saves in Saturday's 3-2 win. It was Ella's first win since a 4-3 decision at Canisius December 10, 2005. He was pulled in his first start this year, also against RIT, after giving up four goals in the first period December 9 in Erie. Sophomore Brett Robinson had the first 3-point game of his career, all helpers, Friday night. Freshman Chris Risi had his first two-goal and first three-point game Friday. After being outshot 55-32 Friday, the Lakers outshot the Tigers 32-29 Saturday, just the 4th time this season Mercyhurst has outshot an opponent. Freshman Nick Vandenbeld had a goal in each game, the second time he's scored in back-to-back games this season. Sophomore Matt Pierce's game-winning goal Saturday was his second of the season and third of his career. The Lakers will conclude the regular season next Saturday night against Canisius. It will be "Senior Recognition Night".

Rochester Institute of Technology: RIT needs one win in their final two games to clinch the AHA regular season title. The Tigers are three points clear of Sacred Heart with two games remaining. The Tigers went 1-1-0 last weekend versus Mercyhurst, snapping a four-game winning streak. The loss to Mercyhurst on Saturday was the first regular season home loss to the Lakers since 1992. RIT went 6-for-12 with the man advantage this weekend, converting 50% of their power play chances. RIT is third behind Michigan and Minnesota in Division in scoring, averaging 3.84 goals per game. In 32 games this season RIT has tallied a league-high 123 goals. The Tigers power play is ranked second behind Maine, converting 24.2% of their chances. RIT has scored 49 power play goals in 190 chances. RIT is seventh in penalty killing, killing off 87.2% of the opponents power-play. The Tigers have killed 211 of the opponents 242 power plays.

Sacred Heart: The Pioneers swept a weekend series from Holy Cross, weekend in Worcester 5-4 and in Milford 4-1. The victories completed a series sweep of the Lakers for the Pioneers. SHU has won six straight games against Holy Cross. The Pioneers have now won four straight and six of their last eight games. Senior Peter Ferraro had a goal and two assists to lead the Pioneer offense. Jason Smith recorded his 36th career win in goal Saturday night, tying the school record for wins in a career by a goaltender. The Pioneers need one point in their final two games to clinch the number one seed in the AHA playoffs. Sacred Heart closes out the regular season against Army in a home-and-home set. The Pioneers and Black Knights have played to two draws already this year and the Pioneers have skated to four draws in four games against the service academies (two each against Army and Air Force). Sacred Heart and Army meet Friday night in West Point with the re-match Saturday in Milford. The Pioneers will celebrate Senior Night prior to Saturday's game.