January 11, 2010 Weekly Release (PDF)

Atlantic Hockey Weekly Award Winners for Games Through January 10

Atlantic Hockey Players of the Week

Brandon Coccimiglio - Mercyhurst Junior, Forward, Burlington, Ontario Coccimiglio led the Lakers with three goals and two assists in their two-game sweep of American International this past weekend at the Mercyhurst Ice Center. On Friday, Coccimiglio netted his first natural hat trick and second three-goal game as part of a four-point performance. He then followed it up with an assist in a 5-3 win over the Yellowjackets on Saturday. Coccimiglio currently leads the team with 13 goals and 13 assists for 26 points.

Atlantic Hockey Goalie of the Week

Jared DeMichiel - R.I.T. Senior, Goaltender, Avon, Conn. DeMichiel stopped 46 of 48 shots in leading RIT to a weekend sweep over Holy Cross. On Friday, he stopped 24 shots in a 5-2 win over the Crusaders. On Saturday, he recorded his first shutout of the season, and second of his career, stopping all 22 shots he faced in a 2-0 win. DeMichiel is 6-0-1 all-time against the Crusaders, with a 1.26 goals against average, and .950 save percentage. This season, the senior goaltender is 10-2-1, with a 1.69 goals against average, and .935 save percentage in AHA play.

Atlantic Hockey Co-Rookies of the Week

Joe Campanelli - Bentley Freshman, Forward, Pierrefonds, Quebec Campanelli had a co-team-high five points this past weekend against Canisius with two goals and three assists. In Friday’s 5-4 win he had a goal and two assists, including the primary assist on the game-winning goal. Campanelli is now second on the team in scoring with 16 points (6g, 10a), second among all rookies in Atlantic Hockey.   Steven Legatto - Sacred Heart Freshman, Goaltender, Kelowna, British Columbia Tallied 63 total saves for the week, including 30 Saturday night as he recorded his first career shutout...Made 33 saves Friday night in a 3-3 tie and made two crucial saves in overtime to preserve the draw for Sacred Heart...Withstood an early Black Knight attack in the series finale making 15 saves in the first period...Posted a .955 save percentage against Army...Has compiled a 1.18 goals against average and .964 save percentage in his last five games.

Atlantic Hockey Honor Roll

Eric Artman - Air Force (Freshman, Defense, East Lansing, Mich.) - Scored AFA’s first goal of the game in Friday’s 2-1 win...Air Force never trailed in the game after his goal...Has played in seven games this season and has three goals. Jacques Lamoureux - Air Force (Junior, Forward, Grand Forks, N.D.) - Three points (2-1-3) in the two games...Assisted on the game-winning goal in Friday’s 2-1 win over UConn with under three minutes left in the game...On Saturday, scored both goals in AFA’s 2-2 overtime tie...Scored the game-tying goal with 1:40 remaining in the third period...11 shots, the most by any Falcon this season, in Saturday’s game. Andrew Volkening - Air Force (Senior, Goaltender, Genoa, Ill.) - Led Air Force to three points in the UConn series...1.46 GAA, .929 saves percentage...Stopped 46 of the 49 shots he faced...Played in his 111th career game on Friday to set a new school record for career games played by a Falcon goaltender. Bobby Preece - Bentley (Senior, Defense, Bonita Springs, Fla.) - Preece had two goals in Friday’s 5-4 win over Canisius, including the game-winner with 5:11 left in the third period that broke a 4-4 tie. Both goals came on the power play. Preece also added an assist in each game. Cory Conacher - Canisius (Junior, Forward, Burlington, Ontario) - Conacher continues to lead the Canisius offense during his junior season, recording his eight and ninth multi-point games of the season in a weekend series against Bentley. Conacher recorded the primary assists on a pair of goals in the opener and the netted two goals in a 3-2 victory in the finale, including the game-winning score with just 2:40 remaining in the contest. Conacher, who has recorded a point in a career-best 10-straight games, ranks second nationally with 1.55 points per game, third with 0.75 goals per game, 16th with 0.80 assists per game, 17th with five power-play goals and first with four game-winning scores. Preston Shupe - Canisius (Freshman, Forward, Weyburn, Saskatchewan) - Shupe had his best weekend of his collegiate career against Bentley, posting two multi-point games against the Falcons. He opened the weekend with his first career multi-goal game in the opener, scoring two goals. In the finale, Shupe registered the primary assists on a pair of goals, including on the game-winning score with just 2:40 left in the game. Shupe was especially key on the defensive end, where he helped kill off five Bentley power plays in the third period while allowing only two shots on goal during the extra-man opportunities. Shupe also won three key faceoffs with just under 20 seconds remaining in the game to help preserve the Canisius victory. Shupe currently leads all Atlantic Hockey rookies with 17 points this season and ranks 17th nationally among freshman with 0.77 points per game. Garrett Bartus - Connecticut (Freshman, Goaltender, Genoa, Ill.) - Bartus finished the weekend against first place Air Force with 81 saves, a 1.94 GAA and a .953 save percentage in nearly 124 minutes of action between the pipes. On Saturday night, Bartus set a new UConn Division I Single Game Save Record making 57 saves off of 59 shots on goal. Bartus finished the night with a .966 save percentage, 1.85 GAA and helped the Huskies to kill off nine of their ten man-down opportunities on the night. Paul Chiasson - Mercyhurst (Freshman, Forward, Toronto, Ontario) - Chiasson led all Mercyhurst rookies with two goals and an assist in the Lakers’ two-game sweep of American International. He marked a goal in each game, including the game-winner in Saturday’s 5-3 come-from-behind victory. Chiasson now has five goals and 11 points on the season. Ryan Zapolski - Mercyhurst (Junior, Goaltender, Erie, Pa.) - Zapolski went 2-0-0 in the Lakers’ sweep of AIC this past weekend. The Erie, Pa. native combined for 55 saves and allowed five goals on the weekend. In Friday’s 7-2 win, he stopped 33 shots and allowed two goals. The next day he made 22 saves as the Lakers captured a 5-3 win. With the wins, Zapolski improved to 11-4-2 in Atlantic Hockey play and 6-0-0 against AIC. Dan Ringwald - R.I.T. (Senior, Defense, Oakville, Ontario) - Ringwald recorded four points on a goal and three assists to lead RIT to a weekend sweep over Holy Cross. On Friday, Ringwald tallied a goal and two assists in a 5-2 win, and was named the game’s first star. On Saturday, he tallied the primary assist on Cameron Burt’s game-winning goal in the first period. Ringwald is second on the team in scoring with 18 points (6-12-18). He has 17 points in 14 AHA games. Erik Boisvert - Sacred Heart (Senior, Forward, Drummondville, Quebec) - Posted six total points, one goal and five assists, in Sacred Heart’s three point weekend against the Army Black Knights...Had a hand in four of the Pioneers five goals in Sunday night’s 5-0 victory...Provided the assist for SHU’s first two goals on Sunday and scored the final marker in the third period...Had the primary assist on Sacred Heart’s first two power play goals in Saturday’s 3-3 tie...Notched a point in six of the Pioneers eight total goals for the weekend. Eric Delong - Sacred Heart (Freshman, Forward, Oakville, Manitoba) - Recorded one goal and two assists for three points in a SHU win and draw against Army...Posted two goals in the series opener Friday night, including one on the game tying goal...Scored the Pioneers third goal Saturday night after crashing the net and gathering a rebound after a Dave Jarman shot...Currently leads all Atlantic Hockey rookies, and ranks seventh in the nation, in points per game with 0.94.

Atlantic Hockey Team Notes

Atlantic Hockey: All Atlantic Hockey home games will be shown on the B2 Network. Click on www.b2livetv.com to see your favorite Atlantic Hockey institution in action during the 2009-10 season. Atlantic Hockey is also on Facebook and Twitter. You can see updates, stories, weekly releases and upcoming schedules on Facebook and Twitter. Hockey on Campus returns this season on hockeyoncampus.com. Tune into Bernie Corbett and Paul McNamara every Wednesday from 7-10 pm for all Atlantic Hockey News each and every week. Air Force: Air Force fell into a tie for second place with RIT by taking three points from UConn last weekend...AFA scored just four goals in the series, but earned a win and a tie...Friday’s win broke a three-game losing streak and a four-game winless skid...Jacques Lamoureux scored both goals in Saturday’s 2-2 overtime tie, including the game-tying goal with 1:40 left in the third...Lamoureux also assisted on the game-winning goal on Friday...Lamoureux had 11 shots on Saturday, the most of any Falcon this season...AFA had a season high 59 shots on Saturday, the most in any game in at least the last eight years...Andrew Volkening played in his 111th career game on Friday to set a new school record for career games played by a Falcon goaltender...AFA was just 1-for-14 on the power play in the series, including 1-for-10 on Saturday...AFA is just 1 for their last 21 on the power play...AFA outshot UConn 85-49 in the series...AFA had 3,031 fans at Saturday’s game, the second most of the season and the 26th consecutive game with more than 2,000 fans...AFA’s penalty kill is at 90.0, the best in the nation...Air Force travels to Bentley for a two-game series in Waltham, Mass. Early in the season, AFA took three points from Bentley in the series at the Academy, a 3-3 overtime tie and a 3-0 win. American International: After a three week hiatus for the holiday’s, the American International College men’s ice hockey team returned to action this past weekend in a weekend double-header at Mercyhurst. The Lakers swept the Yellow Jackets with wins of 7-2 and 5-3. In Friday’s loss, Mercyhurst scored six times before AIC got on the board. Junior Brandon Coccimiglio netted three goals, while senior Neil Graham, freshman Paul Chiasson, and junior Steve Cameron each tallied a goal. Sophomore Michael Penny put the Yellow Jackets on the board scoring at 3:26 of the third period with assists from juniors Mike Little and Greg Vatrano. Junior Mike Gurtler gave the Lakers their seventh goal of the night. Freshman Charles LaChance netted AIC’s second goal of the night late in the final period with assists from sophomore Rob Blanchette and freshman Steve Mele. Junior Dan Ramirez made 21 saves on the night for the Yellow Jackets, before being replaced by freshman Ben Meisner, who made three stops of his own. Junior Ryan Zapolski stopped 33 shots in the win for Mercyhurst. AIC outshot the Lakers 35-31 and 16-11 in the second period. In Saturday’s loss, AIC jumped out to a 1-0 lead when junior forward Tom Mele found the back of the net at 3:59 of the first period with assists from freshmen Jeff Ceccacci and Steve Mele. The Yellow Jackets took a 2-0 advantage when Little netted a shorthanded goal nine-minutes later with assists from senior Mike McMillan and Vatrano. Mercyhurst got on the board two-minutes later as senior Chris Risi tallied a goal with an assist from Graham.The Lakers took a 3-2 lead in the second period with goals from senior Matt Fennell and sophomore Derek Elliott. Mercyhurst also claimed to more goals early in the third period to take a 5-2 advantage. Risi and Chiasson each lit the lamp for the Lakers. Junior Steve McLeod attempted to spark a comeback for AIC as he found the back of the net on the powerplay, with assists from McMillan and Tom Mele. But the effort was too late as Mercyhurst skated to a 5-3 victory. Mesiner made 25 stops in the loss, while Zapolski stopped 22 shots in the victory. AIC was outshot 30-25 on the night, but held a 12-9 advantage in the third period. Next up, AIC takes on Holy Cross in a weekend home-and-home beginning on Friday at 7:05 p.m. in Worchester, Mass. Army: The Black Knights moved to 7-10-3 overall and 6-6-2 in league games after a tie and loss at Sacred Heart. Army skated to a 3-3 overtime draw on Friday but dropped the second game 5-0 … Army posted a 2-1-1 mark against Sacred Heart this season … Army goalie Jay Clark made 35 saves during Friday’s tie and was also credited with an assist on Joey Ammon’s short-handed goal. It was Clark’s second assist this season … Ammon netted Army’s fifth short-handed goal this season … Marcel Alvarez had a power play goal and an assist on Ammon’s tally for his third multiple-point game this season and fifth of his career … Eric Sefchik dished out a pair of assists for his fourth multiple-point game this season and 12th for his career … Army continues its four-game roadtrip with a pair of games in Buffalo, N.Y., against Canisius … Army swept Canisius at Tate Rink Nov. 27-28 by scores of 4-1 and 7-2 … The Black Knights return home Jan. 22-23 for the start of a four-game homestand with Connecticut and Air Force visiting Tate Rink. Bentley: Bentley and Canisius resumed their rivalry this past weekend at Ryan Skating Arena and the two teams split, causing the season series to end tied at two. In the first game on Friday night, Bentley took a 5-4 win, the same score by which the Falcons took the first game in Buffalo a month ago. With the score tied at four after Canisius rallied from a 4-2 deficit, defenseman Bobby Preece put home the game-winner with his second power play goal of the game with 5:11 left. The Falcons had a strong night on the power play, going 3-9. Sophomore Tyler Quartuccio tallied his first career goal in this game, and sophomore Jamie Nudy and freshman Joe Campanelli also scored. Sophomore Kyle Rank made 26 saves for what was his third win in a row. The win was also Bentley’s third win in a row and fourth in five games. In game two, a late goal by Cory Conacher with 2:40 left broke a 2-2 tie and sent Canisius to the win. Campanelli and junior Dustin Cloutier had power play goals for Bentley. Junior goalie Joe Calvi, in his first action in nearly two months, settled down and played a strong game after allowing two early goals. The Falcons now trail Canisius by one point for fourth place after jumping ahead of them following Friday’s win. Campanelli and senior Marc Menzione each had five points during the weekend. Campanelli had two goals and three assists and Menzione had five assists. Menzione now has a team-high 25 points (9g, 16a), while Campanelli is second with 16 (6g, 10a). He’s currently second in scoring among all rookies in Atlantic Hockey. The Falcons will complete their four-game home stand next weekend when they welcome in Air Force to Ryan Skating Arena. Bentley tied and lost against Air Force earlier this season in Colorado. Canisius: Canisius split a pair of one-goal games at Bentley during the weekend, falling in the opener, 5-4, and winning the finale, 3-2. Canisius remains in fourth place of the Atlantic Hockey standings with 17 points and is 8-7-1 against league competition. Junior Cory Conacher continues to lead the Canisius offense, recording multiple points in both games against the Falcons. Conacher registered a pair of assists in the opener, before posting a pair of goals in the finale, including the game-winning score with just 2:40 remaining. Conacher, who has now recorded nine multi-point games and four multi-goal games this season, has extended his career-long streak of registering a point to 10 games. Conacher ranks among the nation’s elite in a number of categories this season. The junior currently places second with 1.55 points per game, third with 0.75 goals per game, 16th with 0.80 assists per game, 17th with five power-play goals and first with four game-winning scores. Freshman Preston Shupe also had his best weekend at the collegiate level. Shupe, who has recorded a point in a career-best five games, also registered multi-point games during the weekend. The rookie had first career multi-goal game in the opener, scoring two goals against the Falcons. In the finale, Shupe posted two assists, recording the primary helper on a pair of Conacher goals, including the assist on the game-winning goal with 2:40 left in regulation. Shupe and sophomore Scott Moser were especially strong on the penalty kill during the third period of the Griffs’ 2-1 victory. The duo led Canisius to killing off five third-period power plays, which included a run of four-straight minutes on the penalty kill and two minutes of 5-on-3 action. Despite all of its opportunities, Canisius held Bentley to just two shots on goal during its five third-period extra-man chances. Moser, alone, blocked seven shots during the game to lead the Griffs’ defensive effort. Senior Jason Weeks added a goal and two assists during the weekend, becoming the fifth player in the program’s Division I history to record 100 career points. Weeks, who has amassed 47 career goals and 53 career assists, joins current teammate Josh Heidinger and former Griffs David Deeves (1998-02), Chris Duggan (1998-02) and Michael Cohen (2003-07) to reach the 100-point plateau. Weeks is also just two goals shy of the school’s record, set by Deeves. Canisius returns home for a pair of games against Army next weekend. The Black Knights swept a pair of games against the Griffs in West Point earlier in the season. Connecticut: The Huskies headed out to Air Force this weekend where they were shown on national television for the first time in the history of the program on Friday night. UConn battled to a 2-1 loss, scoring their second shorthanded goal of the season. On Saturday, Air Force once again got out to a 1-0 lead, but the Huskies tied the game up before the end of the first period on a power play goal. In the second, after a 5 on 3 opportunity, UConn took the lead and held on until Air Force pulled their goalie with two minutes remaining in the game. Air Force went on to tie the game at two-all with 1:40 remaining in the game but the Husky defense buckled down for the remainder of regulation and the overtime period pulling out a 2-2 tie and ending their eight-game skid. Holy Cross: On Jan. 15-16, Holy Cross will play a home-and-home series with league opponent AIC. HC will play its only home game of the month on Friday, while it will travel to West Springfield, Mass., on Saturday to take on AIC at the Olympia Ice Center. Earlier this season, the Crusaders lost to AIC, 3-0, on the road on Oct. 30, and then the teams tied in Worcester, 4-4, on Oct. 31. On Friday in the 5-2 lost at RIT, freshman goalie Thomas Tysowsky made a season-best 37 saves. Eleven of Holy Cross’ last 13 goals have been scored on the power play. All three of the Crusaders’ goals against No. 11 Yale were on the man-advantage and all three of Holy Cross’ goals over the two games versus RIT were on the power play. The Crusaders then went 0-1 versus No. 7 Quinnipiac and 0-5 against No. 14 UMass Lowell, but then went 3-7 in the 4-2 win over Dartmouth and 2-7 in the 5-2 loss at RIT on Jan. 8. Holy Cross went 0-2 against RIT on Jan. 9. The Crusaders are 11-39 (.282) over the last eight games while on the power play. Junior co-captain Everett Sheen leads the team with eight goals and 15 points, while he is tied for third with seven assists. Senior Brodie Sheahan has the most career goals (37), assists (51) and points (88) of any current Crusader. His 37 goals are 10th on the all-time Holy Cross Division I goals list and his 88 points are 10th. Also his 21 career power play goals are tied for fifth on the all-time Holy Cross Division I list. So far this season he has posted seven goals and four assists for 11 points. His seven goals are second on the team and his 11 points are third. Junior forward Jordan Cyr is second on the team with 14 points, while his eight assists are first and his six goals are tied for third. The Crusaders are 1-4-4 at home this season and are 4-7-0 on its opponents’ home ice this season. Holy Cross will host the 2010 NCAA Men’s Hockey Division I Northeast Regional. The dates are Saturday and Sunday, March 27-28 at the DCU Center in Worcester. The semifinals will be at 1:30 p.m. and 5:00 p.m. on March. 27, while the finals will be at 5:30 p.m. on March 28. All three games will be on ESPNU. HC held the event for the first time in 2008. Mercyhurst: Mercyhurst opened the 2010 home portion of its schedule with a sweep of American International…The Lakers defeated the Yellowjackets by the scores of 7-2 and 5-3 to improve to 11-11-2 on the season and 11-5-2 in Atlantic Hockey play. The wins also improved Mercyhurst’s all-time record against AIC to 31-2-1 and extended its winning streak over the Yellowjackets to 11 games…Junior Brandon Coccimiglio netted his first natural hat trick and second three-goal game of his career in the 7-2 win on Friday. He finished the weekend with five points…Junior Ryan Zapolski improved to 6-0-0 against AIC with both wins…Freshman Paul Chiasson scored two goals, including the game-winning on Saturday, and added an assist for three points…With both wins, head coach Rick Gotkin moved to 395-263-51 at Mercyhurst…The Lakers are 9-0-1 in their last 10 AHA games…Mercyhurst continues conference play with a series at Sacred Heart this weekend, beginning on Friday, Jan. 15, at 7:05 p.m. in Milford, Conn. SHU leads the all-time series 14-16-3. Rochester Institute of Technology: The Tigers (11-8-1, 11-2-1 AHA) swept a pair of games against Holy Cross at Ritter Arena over the weekend, 5-2 on Friday, and 2-0 on Saturday. The Tigers now have a 12-game unbeaten streak (11-0-1) in AHA play, dating back to Oct. 30. Jared DeMichiel made 46 saves on 48 shots over the weekend, including the 22-save shutout on Saturday. The shutout win on Saturday was RIT’s second of the season. DeMichiel and Shane Madolora shared a 7-0 shutout win over Connecticut on Oct. 31. RIT’s power-play broke a 1-for-30 slide with a goal by Tyler Brenner late in Friday’s win. RIT also tallied a power-play goal on Saturday. RIT scored seven goals over the weekend after scoring the same amount over the previous the five contests. The Tigers are now 19-6-1 all-time against Holy Cross and are 14-1-1 against the Crusaders since the start of the 2006-07 season. RIT is 22-6-1 in January over the last four seasons The Tigers play their final 14 games of the season against AHA foes. RIT is 8-1-0 at home this season, outscoring foes 40-14 in those contests. RIT has outscored foes 45-17 during the 12-game AHA unbeaten streak. The Tigers enter the week tied for second place in conference play with Air Force, and one point back of Mercyhurst with four games in hand on each team. The Tigers put their 12-game AHA unbeaten streak on the line this weekend, as they travel to Connecticut to play the Huskies in a pair of games, Friday and Saturday. RIT began its AHA unbeaten streak with 6-1 and 7-0 wins over the Huskies at Ritter Arena on Oct. 30-31. The Tigers lead the all-time series between the two schools, 11-5-1. RIT is 6-3-1 against the Huskies in Division I play, but just 1-2-1 at the Freitas Ice Forum. Sacred Heart: Sacred Heart is now riding a five game unbeaten streak after a win and a draw against the Army Black Knights...The Pioneers and Black Knights skated to a 3-3 draw Friday night while SHU owned the series finale in a 5-0 blowout Saturday...Special Teams was the crucial factor in Friday’s game as the Pioneers scored all of their goals with the man advantage...Sacred Heart also allowed a short handed goal on Friday that would tie the game at 1-1...The Pioneers would be forced to come from behind twice, 2-1 and 3-2, before Nick Johnson (Windsor, CT) netted what would prove to be the game tying goal with 3:44 to play in regulation...Johnson had two of SHU goals Friday while Paul Ferraro (Pleasantville, NY) had the other...Sacred Heart’s top line of Evan Mladenoff (Leawood, KS), Erik Boisvert (Drummondville, QC), and Matt Gingera (Winnipeg, MB) combined for four of the Pioneers goals...Mladenoff led the charge, lighting the lamp twice, both in transition offense...Freshman goaltender Steven Legatto (Kelowna, BC) made 30 saves in the series finale to earn the first shutout of his career...The Pioneers are 4-0-1 in their last five games...SHU continues an eight game homestand, in which they are currently 3-0-1, next weekend as they welcome the Mercyhurst Lakers to the Milford Ice Pavilion.