Eric's a Force

This story first appeared on the New England Hockey Journal website.  To access the orginial story written by Jim Connelly click here.

By Jim Connelly

  Though defending AHA tournament champion Air Force struggled a bit out of the gate in league play - posting a 4-4-0 record in its first eight- last weekend's series against Holy Cross provided some much-needed redemption.  

Hard fought from beginning to end, the Falcons earned three of the four points behind a 3-1

Eric Ehn

victory Friday night and a 5-5 come-from-behind tie Saturday.  

Probably the highlight of the weekend was the play of standout forward Eric Ehn, who posted his biggest weekend of the season. He netted two goals and three assists in the two-game set. Having struggled a bit at the start of the season, Ehn now has recorded points in five straight games and leads the Falcons in scoring with 15 points.  

Another bright light for Air Force was the play of its defense, which limited the Crusaders to just 29 shots over the two games on the weekend.  

The three-point weekend pulls Air Force into a tie for second place with Bentley, just a point military academy rival Army.  

NEHJ Player of the Week
Eric Ehn, Sr., Air Force The star forward posted his best weekend of the year - figuring in all three goals in Air Force's 3-1 victory over Holy Cross on Friday (1 goal, 2 assists) and netting a goal and an assist in Saturday's 5-5 tie.      

Looking Ahead
Army vs. Sacred Heart, at SHU Friday Nov. 30, and at Army Saturday, Dec. 1 With all 10 Atlantic Hockey teams locked up in league play, the feature series with be a home-and-home battle between two frontrunners, Army and Sacred Heart. Army is coming off back-to-back road ties at RIT, while Sacred Heart, behind a four-point weekend by junior Bear Trapp, took three-of-four points from Mercyhurst.   

Around Atlantic Hockey  

Air Force
Despite having sported one of the worst power plays in the nation to date, Air Force was able to erupt for three power-play goals in Saturday's 5-5 tie with Holy Cross.  

AIC
The Yellow Jackets nearly played the role of spoiler at the Rensselaer Holiday Tournament - skating to a 1-1 tie through regulation and five minutes of overtime against host RPI in Friday's semifinal. RPI, though, prevailed in the rarely-seen shootout, 2-1.  

Army
Rookie goaltender Jay Clark proved he can be solid as a rock, posting a career-high 36 saves in a 1-1 road tie against RIT. It was just the third career start for Clark, who was called upon to stop a penalty shot in overtime to preserve the tie.  

Bentley
The first-ever battle with Ivy League stalwart Dartmouth proved a little more than Bentley could handle. The Big Green handed the Falcons a 5-1 loss, as Jeff Gumaer notched Bentley's lone goal.   

Canisius
The dubious task of facing the No. 1 team in the country, Miami, proved far too tall for Canisius. The Griffs fell, 9-2, and, 11-1, in the two-game set. The 11 goals allowed on Saturday matched a Division 1 high for Canisius (11-3 loss to MSU-Mankato on November 23, 1998) and was the largest margin of defeat in Canisius' Div. 1 history.  

UConn
Rookie Andrew Olsen had the chance to play the role of hero Saturday night, as he scored the overtime game-winner against Colgate in a 2-1 victory. It was Olsen's sixth goal of the season and helped his team avenge a 7-1 loss to the Raiders a night earlier.  

Holy Cross
Rookie Everett Sheen recorded his first career hat trick Saturday night in a 5-5- tie at Air Force. The three goals doubled Sheen's point total for the season, having entered the game with just a goal and two assists.  

Mercyhurst
Back-to-back overtime contests for Mercyhurst were the second and third straight overtime games the Lakers have played. It's the first time in school history Mercyhurst has played three straight overtime contests. Unfortunately, Mercyhurst has just one point to show for those three games - having posted a 0-2-1 record over the span.  

RIT
Goaltender Louis Menard should be getting extra pay in his check this weekend after having to play all 130 minutes in goal for the Tigers in two overtime ties this past weekend. Menard allowed three goals on 65 shots against Army to earn the first two ties of his season.  

Sacred Heart
Juniors Bear Trapp and Eric Giosa were key offensive weapons for Sacred Heart, as it earned a win and tie in a two-game set with Mercyhurst. Trapp figured in four of the five goals, netting a goal in each game, while Giosa potted the overtime game winner Friday night and added to assists Saturday.