March 16, 2009

Atlantic Hockey Weekly Release for Games through March 15

March 16, 2009 Weekly Release (PDF)

Atlantic Hockey Weekly Award Winners for Games Through March 15

Atlantic Hockey Player of the Week

Jeff Gumaer - Bentley

Senior, Forward, Webster Grove, Mo.

Gumaer came up large when it counted most for Bentley, scoring three goals for his first career hat trick in Bentley’s 4-2 win over Canisius in the clinching game three victory on Sunday. He scored 14 seconds into the first period, and nine seconds into the second period which was the game-winner. He also added four assists in the series, two each in the first two games. Bentley is 11-0 this season when he scores a goal.

Atlantic Hockey Goalie of the Week

Ryan Zapolski - Mercyhurst

Sophomore, Goaltender, Erie, Pa.

Zapolski backstopped the Lakers to Atlantic Hockey’s only Quarterfinal series sweep this past weekend. He stopped 55 shots and picked up his fourth shutout of the season in the series clinching 5-0 victory against sixth-seeded Army. Ryan currently has a .935 saves percentage, while posting a 2.16 GAA in 27 appearances this season.

Atlantic Hockey Rookie of the Week

Tyler Brenner - R.I.T.

Freshman, Forward, Linwood, ONT

Brenner tallied three goals and two assists for five points as RIT outlasted Holy Cross in the best of three AHA Quarterfinal series at Ritter Arena over the weekend. Brenner scored the game-winning goal and added two assists in Saturday’s 6-4 win. He then scored two goals in Sunday’s 9-5 deciding victory. Brenner is second in the nation among all rookies in scoring, with 35 points (14-21-35).

Atlantic Hockey Honor Roll

Jacques Lamoureux - Air Force (So., F, Grand Forks, N.D.) - Five points in three games to lead Air Force to two wins over Sacred Heart in the best of three series...Three goals and two assists with a team-best 15 shots...+2 in the series...Scored the game winner on Friday with 96 seconds left in the third period to break a 3-3 tie...Scored two goals and had two assists on Sunday in the 8-1 win...Four points on Sunday tied his career best...Leads the nation with 31 goals, 15 power play goals and eight game-winners.

Andrew Volkening - Air Force (Jr., G, Genoa, Ill.) - Led Air Force to two wins over Sacred Heart...2.73 GAA and a .849 saves percentage in the series...Allowed eight goals in the three-game series and five came on the power play...In the deciding third game, stopped 14 of the 15 shots he faced...Earned his 25th win of the season, a school record and the second most wins by any goalie in the nation.

Anthony Canzoneri - Bentley (Sr., F, Homer Glen, Ill.) - Canzoneri had one goal and a team-high six assists in Bentley’s quarterfinal series with Canisius. He scored the game-winning goal on the power play with 3:38 left in the second period of game one, then set up all three of Jeff Gumaer’s goals in the deciding game three win.

Dain Prewitt - Bentley (Sr., F, Westminster, Colo.) - Prewitt was one of Bentley’s three leading scorers in its series against Canisius with a line of 4-3-7. He had two goals apiece in the first two games, including the go-ahead power play goal in the second period of game one which gave Bentley a 3-2 lead. He also had the secondary assists on all three of Jeff Gumaer’s goals in the clinching game on Sunday.

Dave Kostuch - Canisius (Fr., F, Richmond Hill, ONT) - Kostuch led the Griffs in scoring during their postseason run, tallying six points on three goals and three assists. He posted a point on all three goals in the opener, recording two goals and an assist. His two goals matched the program’s postseason record. The rookie then added a goal and an assist in Canisius’ first postseason victory since 2004. He scored the second goal of the game and then added an assist on what proved to be the game-winning goal. Kostuch then tallied an assist in the finale. Kostuch finished the year with 21 goals, one shy of the program’s Division I record (Chris Duggan scored 22 goals in 1998-99). He currently ranks ninth nationally, and first among freshmen, with 0.58 goals per game.

Kyle Atkins - Holy Cross (Fr., D, Brockville, ONT) - Atkins had five assists in the quarterfinals against RIT. He had two assists in the 5-3 win in game one, while he had one assist in the second game and two assists in the third game. He concluded the season with one goal and 10 assists for 11 points.

Brodie Sheahan - Holy Cross (Jr., F, Lethbridge, ALB) - Sheahan scored two goals and had six assists for eight points in the three games against RIT in the Atlantic Hockey quarterfinals. In the 5-3 win in the first game, he scored one goal and had three assists including an assist on the game-winner, while in the second game he netted one goal and one assist, and in the third game he had two assists. This season he led the team with 19 assists, while he was second in goals with 12 and in points with 31.

Jay Silvia - Holy Cross (Fr., F, Burlington, Mass.) - Silvia scored four goals and had one assist for five points in the three games played against RIT in the Atlantic Hockey quarterfinals. In the 5-3 win in the first game, he scored two goals and had an assist on the game-winner for three points, while in the third game he scored two goals. He finished the season tied for third on the team in goals with 11, while he was fourth in points with 21.

Matt Fennell - Mercyhurst (Jr., D, Grand Forks, N.D.) - Led the Laker offsene with three goals and an assist from his blueline position. Fennell opened and closed the scoring for Mercyhurst in Friday nigth’s, 6-2 victory over sixth-seeded Army. In the series clinching contest, he again opened the scoring for the third-seeded Lakers, which turned out to be the game-winner.

Stevan Matic - R.I.T. (Jr., F, Burnaby, BC) - Matic scored a goal and added three assists as RIT outlasted Holy Cross in the best of three AHA Quarterfinal series at Ritter Arena over the weekend. Matic recorded an assist in Saturday’s 6-4 win. On Sunday, Matic recorded a career-high three points on a goal and two assists in the deciding 9-5 win. Matic set-up Brent Alexin with the game-opening shorthanded goal, then put the game away, giving RIT an 8-5 lead with 11:36 left. Matic then set up Anton Kharin’s empty netter. Matic now has six goals and 10 assists for 16 points this season.

Stefan Drew - Sacred Heart (Sr., G, Oakbank, MAN) - Drew made 93 saves in the series against Air Force, including 79 in the first two games. He made 37 saves Friday night and followed that up with a 42 save effort Saturday night in a Pioneer win. It was the fourth time this year Drew made over forty saves in a game. He made at least ten saves in six of the seven periods he played.

Matt Gingera - Sacred Heart (Fr., F, Winnipeg, MAN) - Gingera scored two goals in the Air Force series, one in each of the first two games. Gingera finished his rookie season with 12 goals, third most on the team.

Eric Giosa - Sacred Heart (Sr., F, Northville, Mich.) - Giosa tallied four points in SHU’s quarterfinal series against Air Force, scoring two goals and adding two assists. He had one assist in Friday night’s opener. Saturday he factored in on three of four SHU goals in the Pioneers’ win. He had one assist and then scored the final SHU goals of the night. Giosa finished the season with a team high 16 goals and was second on the team with 29 points.
SHU goals of the night. Giosa finished the season with a team high 16 goals and was second on the team with 29 points.

Atlantic Hockey Team Notes

Air Force: Air Force returns to Rochester for the third straight year...The Falcons are now 6-0 in AHA elimination games and 9-1 all-time in the AHA Tournament...Sunday’s game marked the first time in eight years (since the CHA Tournament) that Air Force played three games in three nights (not including exhibition games)...Saturday night’s loss was Air Force’s first ever in the AHA Tournament...AFA improved to 16-4 at home this season, the most ever Division I home wins and the second most home win against all opponents in school history...AFA is now a combined 17-5-2 the last two years in February and March...AFA has won eight of its last 11 games...AFA’s 11 short-handed goals are tied for the most in the nation...Air Force outshot Sacred Heart, 135-53, in the series...Brent Olson recorded his first career hat trick on Sunday. He had four points in the series...Greg Flynn tied his career high with two goals and two assists on Sunday. He had five points (2-3-5) in the series...Jeff Hajner had four points in the series...Scott Kozlak scored a short-handed goal on Friday and Saturday and has three on the year to tie for sixth in the nation in that category...AFA’s eight goals tied as the most this season and the most since Air Force scored nine goals vs. Bentley in the AHA Quarterfinals last year... After going 0-for-12 on the power play on Saturday, AFA was 4-for-11 on Sunday.

Army: The Black Knights concluded their season, losing a pair of games to No. 3 Mercyhurst in Erie, Pa., in a quarterfinal series … Army lost all four games it played in Erie, Pa., this season but did sweep the Lakers at West Point, N.Y. … Army concluded the season 11-19-6 with a 10-12-6 conference mark … Army was 6-4-5 at Tate Rink … Junior Owen Meyer finished as the team leader in goals (19), power play goals (8), short-handed goals (3) and points (33) and tied Eric Sefchik for the team-lead in game-winning goals (3) … Sefchik led the team with 20 assists and was second in points with 29 … Cody Omilusik, who was on a line with Meyer and Sefchik for the majority of the season, was third in scoring with 13 goals and 14 assists … Mike Hull topped the freshman class with 17 points (5G, 12A), one more than Marcel Alvarez (1G, 15A) … In all, eight freshman earned ice time … Jay Clark finished with a 9-9-5 record in net with a 2.98 goals against average and a .914 save percentage … Josh Kassel was 2-10-1 with a 4.04 goals against average and .867 save percentage ... Joe Spracklen had a 4.52 goals against average and .875 save percentage.

Bentley: Bentley topped Canisius two games to one over the weekend at Ryan Skating Arena to advance to the Atlantic Hockey semifinals for the third time. The Falcons took game one 6-3 behind two goals from Dain Prewitt, and a second period power play goal by Anthony Canzoneri that turned out to be the game-winner. In game two, Bentley twice fell behind by three goals, at 3-0 and 5-2. A third period power play goal by Dustin Cloutier 30 seconds in got Bentley to within 5-3, but a goal six minutes later by Jason Weeks put an end to Bentley’s hopes of a rally. In game three, Jeff Gumaer scored just 14 seconds into the first period on his way to a hat trick and a 4-2 Bentley win in the deciding game. Adam Brace tied it for Canisius a little over three minutes later in the first period, but Marc Menzione goal gave Bentley back the lead at 11:16. Gumaer scored his second goal of the game in the second period, this time only nine seconds in, then added his third goal on the power play at 7:51 of the period to make it 4-1. Canzoneri and Dain Prewitt had the assists on all three of Gumaer’s goals. Freshman Kyle Rank came up big as well, making 29 saves to earn his second win of the series. Prewitt (4-3-7), Gumaer (3-4-7) and Canzoneri (1-6-7) were Bentley’s leading scorers for the series. The Falcons now have 19 wins on the season, which is second only to the 1980-81 team which won 20 games in the program’s history. Prewitt and Gumaer became the fourth and fifth players in school history, and the first two in the program’s Division I history, to reach 60 goals. Prewitt reached 60 with two goals in game two, while Gumaer’s hat trick in game three put him at 62. With 42 points this season, Prewitt (21-21-42), now has the second highest single-season scoring total in Bentley’s Division I history, trailing only head coach Ryan Soderquist, who recorded 48 during the 1999-00 season. The 42 points is tied for eighth most in the program’s entire history, and the 21 goals is the best single-season total in the team’s Division I history and tied for fifth all-time. With 126 career points, he’s now tied for fourth on the team’s career scoring list. Gumaer and Canzoneri, both with 112 career points, are tied for 10th all-time. Gumaer’s 62 goals is fourth all-time, while Canzoneri’s 84 assists is fifth. The hat trick was the first of Gumaer’s career and Bentley is now 11-0 this season when he scores a goal. Next up for Bentley is Air Force in the semifinals. Air Force swept Bentley in Colorado Springs on the weekend of Oct. 31, but Bentley earned a spilt in Watertown on the weekend of Feb. 13, dropping the first game 3-2, but winning the second 4-1. Against their potential opponents in the finals, the Falcons went 2-1-1 against Mercyhurst this season, and 0-2 against RIT.

Canisius: The Griffs finished the 2008-09 season by to Bentley in the Atlantic Hockey Quarterfinals, 2-1. Canisius finishes the season with a 15-16-6 record, its best since the 2004-05 campaign. In the opener of the series, Bentley defeated the Griffs, 6-3. Sophomore Dave Kostuch led the Griffs with three points on two goals and an assist. His two goals matched the school’s postseason record held by three other players. Josh Heidinger also scored for Canisius, marking the first postseason game that the Griffs scored more than two goals since the 2001 MAAC Tournament, ending a span of nine games. Canisius dominated play on Saturday, cruising to a 7-3 victory. The win was the Griffs’ first postseason victory since the 2004 Atlantic Hockey Quarterfinals (1-0 over Quinnipiac), ending a seven-game losing streak. Junior Ryan Klusendorf led the Griffs with two goals, matching the Griffs postseason record. Cory Conacher, Carl Hudson, Scott Jenks, Kostuch and Jason Weeks also scored for the Griffs in the 7-3 victory. Jenks’ goal was the first of his collegiate career. The seven goals are the most for Canisius since a 7-3 victory over Bentley Nov. 12, 2005 and matched the program’s postseason record. The four-goal margin of victory was also the largest for the Griffs in a postseason game. Junior Andrew Loewen recorded 41 saves in net to earn the victory. His 41 stops are three more than Dan Giffin’s 38 against Mercyhurst in 2006 for the Griffs’ postseason standard. In Sunday’s finale, Bentley eliminated the Griffs with a 4-2 victory. Freshman Adam Brace tallied both of the Griffs’ scores in the defeat, matching the school’s postseason record. Brace and Kostuch led the Griffs during the postseason in the freshman seasons. Brace tallied six points on two goals and four assists during the weekend, while the Kostuch recorded three goals and three assists. Kostuch finished the year with 21 goals, one shy of the program’s Division I record (Chris Duggan scored 22 goals in 1998-99). Kostuch ranks ninth nationally, and first among freshmen, with 0.58 goals per game. Weeks finished the season with a team-best 39 points on 14 goals and 25 assists during his junior season. His 39 points are the second-most in the program’s Division I history, while his 25 helpers are one shy of the school standard. Hudson’s goal was the 14th of his season, adding to his school record for goals in a season by a defender. The junior currently ranks second nationally among blueliners with 0.40 goals per game.

Holy Cross: Junior goalie Ian Dams (Manotick, Ontario) now has 1,142 career saves which are third all-time on the Holy Cross Division I career saves list. Also his 17 victories are also third. Sophomore Jordan Cyr (Winnipeg, Manitoba) led the team with 19 goals and 32 points, while he was third in assists with 13. His 19 goals are ranked third on the Holy Cross Division I single-season goals list. Holy Cross is ranked sixth in the nation in fewest penalty minutes per game with 12.5.

Mercyhurst: Mercyhurst

Rochester Institute of Technology: RIT advanced to the 2009 Atlantic Hockey semifinals after defeating Holy Cross 2-1 in the quarterfinal series. RIT won the final two games, scoring six and nine goals, respectively. The nine goals scored in Sunday¹s 9-5 win is a Division I team record. All 12 forwards had least a point in Sunday¹s win. A bevy of AHA Postseason records were set in Sunday¹s 9-5 game, including most goals in a game by one team (9), most by both teams (14) and most combined goals in a three-game series (32). RIT Head Coach Wayne Wilson won his 188th game at the helm of the Tigers, tying a school record held by Eric Hoffberg, who coached RIT from 1989-99. Wilson is now 188-90-24 in 10 seasons at RIT. RIT¹s 23 wins are a Division I team record and most since the 2001-02 season. The Tigers will play Mercyhurst in the second AHA semifinal game on Friday at 7:35 p.m. at Blue Cross Arena. RIT swept the Lakers, 6-2 and 5-3 at Ritter Arena on Dec. 12-13. RIT leads the all-time series between the two schools, 23-12-4 and is 7-3-1 against Mercyhurst since moving to Division I in 2005. Air Force will play Bentley in the first semifinal on Friday at 4:05 p.m. The two winners will meet in the AHA Championship on Saturday. Tickets are now on sale for this weekend¹s AHA Final Four at the Blue Cross Arena Box office or ticketmaster.com. The two-day, four-game pass (which includes the Section V Exceptional Senior game on Saturday at 2) is $32 for adults and $22 for students. Single-day passes are $18 and $12. RIT set a Division I school record by going 6-1 against Holy Cross this season, outscoring the Crusaders 37-18. The Tigers now lead the all-time series between the two schools, 16-6 and are 12-1 since moving to Division I in 2005. The Tigers are now 15-0-1 when leading after two periods, 13-2-1 in the second game of a weekend series and 16-0-0 when scoring at least five goals in a game this season. RIT scored shorthanded goals on Saturday and Sunday and now lead Division I with 12 shorthanded goals, a DI team record. RIT is third in Division I in scoring, averaging 3.89 goals per game (three of the top four scoring teams are from Atlantic Hockey). The Tigers have incredibly balanced scoring, with six players scoring at least 30 points and 15 in double digits. The Tiger power-play has scored 31 goals over the last 19 games. They are fifth in the nation overall at 21.0 percent. Brennan Sarazin has 27 points over his last 17 games (11-15-27) and now has a team-best 40 points (19-21-40) in 37 games. Freshman Tyler Brenner is second among all freshmen in scoring with 35 points (14-21-35). The Tigers have a nine-game unbeaten streak (8-0-1) on the road. RIT finished 13-5-0 at home this season and scored 91 goals in 18 home games (5.1 per game).

Sacred Heart: The Pioneers lost their AHA quarterfinal series to Air Force two games to one. SHU lost the first game, won the second and lost the deciding game. Saturday night’s win was the first time the Pioneers have ever won at Cadet Ice Arena. Senior Eric Giosa led the SHU attack with two goals and two assists in the series, including two goals in Saturday’s win. Senior Bear Trapp rang up a goal and two assists in the series. Trapp finished his career with 156 points, two shy of the school record. His 56 goals are good for fourth all-time while his 100 assists are the most all-time. Goaltender Stefan Drew made 93 saves in the series, including 79 in the first two games. Senior Kyle Tyll skated in 146 games in his four year career, the most of any player in SHU history.