Tigers' Patry Chosen Atlantic Hockey Player of the Week (12/11/06)

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Atlantic Hockey Goaltender of the Week

Andrew Loewen - Canisius
Freshman, Goaltender, Winnipieg, MAN

Loewen stopped 58 of the 62 shots he faced this week for a .935 save percentage. In splitting his two starts, the freshman recorded a 2.02 goals against average.

Atlantic Hockey Rookie of the Week

Jeff Hajner - Air Force 
Freshman, Forward, Las Vegas, Nev. 

Hajner notched a goal and two assists in a weekend split at Connecticut. He assisted on the game-winning goal for the Falcons in a 4-2 win Thursday night. Friday night he netted Air Force's final goal of the contest to push the lead to 5-2 at the end of the second period. Hajner second assist of the weekend was on the first goal of the Friday night affair.

Weekly Honor Roll

Andrew Ramsey, Air Force (Sr., F, Noblesville, Ind.) - Ramsey notched totals of 1-3-4 in a weekend split at Connecticut. Thursday night assisted on the Falcons fourth goal of the game in a 4-2 win. Saturday night he added a goal and a pair of assists.

Chris Bolognino, American International (Jr., D, Carol Stream, Ill.) - Had totals of 1-2-3 for the weekend, including a pair of assists in Saturday's victory over Canisius.

Bryan Jurynec, American International (Jr., F, Orland Park, Ill.) - Notched the game-winning goal and had a goal and an assist Saturday.

Josh Kassel, Army (So., G, Greensburg, Pa.) - Kassel made 21 saves to help the Black Knights tie Holy Cross, 2-2, on Wednesday night. He was vital in the third period keeping Army in the game with several big saves. The sophomore has now held opponents to two goals or less in six of his 13 starts this season.

Robb Ross, Army (Jr., F, North St. Paul, Minn.) - Ross recorded a goal and an assist in Wednesday night's tie with Holy Cross. The junior forward logged his sixth goal of the season to even the score at 1-1 midway through the first period and then assisted on Will Ryan's go-ahead tally in the final minutes of the second period.

Nick DeCroo, Bentley (Fr., F, Sarver, Pa.) - DeCroo scored first collegiate goal on Sunday at Nebraska-Omaha.

Ray Jean, Bentley (Sr., G, Randolph, Maine) - Jean made 55 saves in two games at Nebraska-Omaha.

Marc Zwicky, Bentley (Jr., F, Bael, Switzerland) - Zwicky scored two goals and picked up an assist in two games at Nebraska-Omaha.

Carl Hudson, Canisius (Fr., D, Smooth Rock Falls, ONT) - Hudson scored two goals, including the game-winner, in the Dec. 8 game against American International. It was the third time this season the freshman has scored two goals. Hudson's first goal was his first goal not coming on the power play this season.

Chris Myhro, Connecticut (So., F, Eden Praire, Minn.) - Myhro recorded his first career hat trick and scored the game-winning goal as the Huskies rallied for five goals in the third period to erase a three-goal deficit en route to a 7-5 win over Air Force.

Dale Reinhardt, Holy Cross (Jr., F, Livingston, N.J.) - Reinhardt had a goal and an assist in the 2-2 tie at Army on Wednesday. He assisted on Holy Cross' first goal and then he tied the game at 2-2 in the third period. Reinhardt leads the team in goals with 10, while he is tied for third in assists with nine and is tied for second in points with 19.

Cody Collins, Mercyhurst (Fr., F, Winfield, BC) - Collins scored his second goal of the season, the first goal of the game, in Friday's 5-2 loss to RIT.Jordan Wakefield, Mercyhurst (Sr., G, Spruce Grove, ALB) - Wakefield relieved in both games against RIT and stopped a combined 34 of 37 shots (.919) in three periods of work.

Matt Crowell, R.I.T. (Fr., F, Kelowna, BC) - Crowell scored the game winning goal (his third of 2006-07) and assisted on another as he helped lead the Tigers to a 6-4 win over Mercyhurst on Saturday night. He has four goals and three assists this season and is plus-5.

Louis Menard, R.I.T. (Fr., G, Chicoutimi, QUE) - Menard, filling in for the injured Jocelyn Guimond, won both games for RIT this weekend, stopping 50 shots in the two wins over Mercyhurst. He made 26 saves in Friday's 5-2 win and had 24 saves in Saturday's victory. He is now 5-2 on the year with a 2.41 goals against average and .920 save percentage.
Team Notes
 

Air Force: Josh Frider scored his first career game-winner on Thursday vs. UConn...Eric Ehn scored his 16th goal of the season on Thursday and continues to lead the nation in that category. The goal was his first in four games, his longest drought of the season. He added an assist on Friday for his 36th point in the first half of the season...Brandon Johnson played in his first game on Friday...Junior defenseman Frank Schiavone enjoyed the best offensive weekend of his career. He had three points in the two games, including a career-best two points on Friday (1-1-2). Schiavone was also a +4 in the UConn series...Peter Foster started both game against UConn and has now started four straight games, his longest stretch of the season. Ian Harper started five straight games earlier in the year...Prior to Friday's loss, Foster was 1-0-2 in his three previous starts, allowing 1.90 goals per game with a .920 saves percentage. However, against UConn on Friday, Foster allowed five goals in 56 minutes with a .773 saves percentage..AFA is now off until Jan. 5-6 at Mercyhurst.

American International: AIC is 3-2-1 over its last six games with Canisius. The Yellow Jackets have scored at least two goals in each of the last five games.

Army: The Black Knights played to a 2-2 draw with Holy Cross in their only game of the week ... Army slipped to third in the AHA standings following RIT's sweep of Mercyhurst ... Black Knights' third-place standing is highest placing in the AHA standings entering the holiday break since joining the league in the 2003-04 season ... Robb Ross' power play goal against the Crusaders was his fourth of the season, moving him to 36th in the nation in that category ... Tim Manthey ranks 5th among NCAA defensemen averaging 1.00 points per game, while ranking 33rd in the country in assists (.80) ... goalie Josh Kassel ranks 29th in the country with a 2.58 GAA and saves percentage (.907) ... the Black Knights are off until Dec. 29 when they open the second half of their season at Tate Rink against RIT.

Bentley: The Falcons were swept in a two-game series at Nebraska-Omaha...This weekend marked the first time Bentley was swept in a two-game series since March 3-4 against Holy Cross...Marc Zwicky scored in both games this weekend for the Falcons and added an assist in Sunday's contest...Freshman Nick DeCroo scored his first collegiate goal in Sunday's game...This weekend's games were the first Bentley had ever played against a CCHA opponent...Sunday's game was a Commissioner's Cup contest...The Falcons are off until Thursday, Dec. 21, when they open a two-game series in Milford, Conn., against first-place Sacred Heart.

Canisius: Canisius closed the 2006 Atlantic Hockey portion of its schedule with a split against the American International Yellow Jackets at the Buffalo State Sports Arena. In Friday night's win, the Griffs won their third straight at home for the first time since Feb. 26 to March 5, 2005. Canisius also tied a season-high in shots in the game when the team totaled 38. Freshman Carl Hudson scored two goals in the 5-2 win on Friday. It was the third time this season Hudson had two goals in the same game. His first goal in the game was the first non-power play goal of the season for the Smooth Rock Falls, Ont. native. Overall, Hudson has eight goals on the year, seven coming on the power play. Spencer Churchill had the second multiple-point game of his career. Churchill had a three-assist game Nov. 19, 2005, against Connecticut. Kyle Bushee had an assist in each game and has tallied a point in three straight and four of the past five. David Kasch had a goal in the Friday night win and tied his career high with a three-game goal-scoring streak.

Connecticut: The University of Connecticut men's hockey team split a two-game series with Air Force over the weekend. The Falcons won the first game by breaking a 2-2 tie with a pair of goals in the third period to claim game one by a 4-2 tally. The Huskies won the second game of the series as they scored five third period goals to erase a 5-2 Air Force lead en route to a thrilling 7-5 win Friday night. Sophomore Chris Myhro notched his first career hit trick, which included the game-winning goal. UConn's seven goals was the highest amount scored this season. UConn returns to the ice Dec. 17 when the Huskies host Union at the Mark Edward Freitas Ice Forum.

Holy Cross: Holy Cross will return to action on December 29-30 at the Toyota UConn Hockey Classic in Storrs, Conn. On December 29, the Crusaders will face UConn in an Atlantic Hockey game, while they will then take on either Colgate or Northeastern on December 30...Sophomore goaltender Charlie Lockwood made his collegiate debut in the 2-2 tie at Army on Wednesday, December 6. He stopped 27 of 29 shots....Senior captain James Sixsmith leads the team in assists (21) and points (27) after the first half of the season. He holds the Holy Cross Division I record for career assists with 95, while his 132 career points are tied for fifth on the Division I list and 20th all-time at Holy Cross.

Mercyhurst: The Lakers got goals from six different players in the two games against RIT. Senior goalie Mike Ella made his first start of the season Saturday. It was his first start since a 2-1 loss at Sacred Heart January 28, 2006, a span of 27 regular season and playoff games. Junior Matt Warren scored his first goal of the season Saturday and his first since March 4, 2006 when he found the back of the net in a 4-2 win at home over Canisius. Sophomore winger Chris Trafford scored his third goal in two games with a power play marker Friday. He was blanked Saturday. The Tigers' sweep of the weekend series increased their all-time margin against the Lakers to 18-10-3. Friday's game marked the 15th anniversary of the opening of the Ice Center. Ironically, RIT was also the opponent on December 8, 1991, and came away with a 5-4 win in overtime. Both teams were Division III at the time and members of the ECAC. The Lakers will conclude the month at #3 Maine on December 16 and at the Denver Tournament the 29th and 30th. The Lakers are 0-2 lifetime against Maine and have been outscored 12-0. The Lakers are 0-1 lifetime against Denver. Mercyhurst will play the #13 Pioneers on the 29th and either Brown or UMass-Lowell on the 30th. Mercyhurst begins the New Year at home with conference games against Air Force on January 5 and 6.

Rochester Institute of Technology: RIT is on a roll, with five straight wins. It is the longest winning streak for the Tigers in Division I play and the longest overall since an eight-game winning streak to start the 2002-03 season. RIT has outscored its opponents 23-9 during its winning streak. The Tigers are now 8-2-1 in Atlantic Hockey play, one point behind Sacred Heart, with two games in hand. RIT has four players (Simon Lambert, Matt Smith, Steve Pinizzotto, Brent Patry) currently scoring at least a point per game. Lambert is 18th in the nation in points per game (1.33ppg). Matt Smith is tied for fourth in the nation with seven power-play goals. Patry is tied for fifth in points by a defenseman nationally. Jocelyn Guimond's .929 save percentage is sixth in the nation. Offensively, the Tigers are the sixth highest scoring team in the country, averaging 3.93 goals per game. RIT's special teams are also among the best in the country. The power-play is fourth, clicking at a 23.5 percent rate (24/102) and the penalty kill is sixth, stopping 88.1 percent of their opponents power-play attempts.

Sacred Heart: The Pioneers were off this weekend, their first week with no games this season. Senior Pierre-Luc O'Brien had a goal and an assist in the series to raise his team leading total to 27. O'Brien needs three more goals to break the school record for goals scored in a career (65). He needs five more assists to set a new school record for assists in a career (80), and he needs just four more points to break the school record for points in a career, 142. The goals and points records are held by Martin Paquet '03, while the assists mark was set by Jon Yackmack '97. The Pioneers are off until December 21st when they open a two game set with Bentley in Milford.