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American International: The American International College
men’s ice hockey team’s season came to an end Friday
night after losing 4-2 to Holy Cross in the opening round of the
AHA Championship Tournament. The Yellow Jackets end the season
5-24-4 overall and 5-20-4 in the conference, while the win improves
the Crusaders to 12-17-6 on the season and to 11-13-5 in the AHA.
Freshman Adam Pleskach finishes the season with the team lead in
points with 25 points including 15 goals and 10 assists, while
junior forward Steve McLeod is second with 9 goals and 13
assists.
Army: The Black Knights will travel to Air Force this weekend for
a quarterfinal series against their service academy rivals ... Army
is on the road for quarterfinal round for the second straight
season ... Army beat Air Force 4-2 and secured a 3-3 overtime tie
in two meetings this season.
Bentley: Bentley’s season came to a close on Saturday night
as ninth-seeded UConn upset the eighth-seeded Falcons 2-1 in the
first round of the Atlantic Hockey Tournament. All three goals were
scored in the first period and UConn’s freshman goalie
Garrett Bartus made 27 saves. The Huskies jumped out to a 1-0 lead
just 3:05 in on a goal by Andrew Olson. Freshman Dan Koudys
equalized for Bentley at 14:23, but UConn took the lead right back
just 33 seconds later on a goal by Justin Hernandez. That was all
the support Bartus needed as he made 14 saves in the second period
and six in the third. Senior Marc Menzione ended the season as the
team’s leading scorer with 11 goals and 18 assists for 29
points. Menzione finishes his career as the fourth all-time leading
scorer in the school’s Division I history with 101 points. He
also finishes third in goals (44) and fourth in assists (57).
Defenseman Bobby Preece finishes second in career points among
defenseman in Bentley’s Division I history with 57. Three of
Bentley’s top-five scorers at season’s end were
freshmen, Joe Campanelli (10-15-25), Koudys (6-14-20) and Brett
Hartung (10-5-15).
Canisius: Canisius and Mercyhurst will square off in the Atlantic
Hockey Quarterfinals in a best-of-three series this weekend. The
two teams played four times during the 2009-10 season with Canisius
winning three of the four games, including both contests at the
Mercyhurst Ice Arena. The two schools are meeting for the fourth
time in the MAAC or Atlantic Hockey Tournament. Mercyhurst
eliminated the Griffs in a single-game during the 2001 and 2006
seasons. The Lakers also won a two-game series following the
2007-08 season, defeating Canisius 4-1 and 2-1 in overtime.
Connecticut: The Huskies traveled to Bentley this past weekend for
their Atlantic Hockey first round game against the Falcons. The
Huskies jumped out to an early one nothing lead behind the goal of
Andrew Olson and trailed for just 33 seconds in the entire game
defeating the Falcons 2-1. Olson netted the early goal for the
Huskies with some help from Justin Hernandez at 3:05 in the first
period. The Falcons evened things out at 14:23 but just 33 seconds
later the Huskies regained the lead and kept the 2-1 advantage for
the remainder of the game. Hernandez netted the gamewinner for the
Huskies, his eighth goal of the year and second gamewinner. He was
helped out by Olson and Tom Janosz. The Husky defense was strong
throughout the entire game squelching many Bentley scoring
opportunities and killing of six penalties. Garrett Bartus was
outstanding in goal for the Huskies stopping all but one shot on
the night making 27 saves, including a few gamechanging ones, in 60
minutes of play. The Huskies will head out to RIT for a three-game
series in the AHA Quarterfinals this upcoming weekend March 12-14.
THe last time that the two teams met, the Huskies ended RIT’s
13 game AHA unbeaten streak.
Holy Cross: With the 4-2 win over AIC in the Atlantic Hockey
Tournament first round on March 5, the seventh-seeded Crusaders
advance to a best-two-out-of-three quarterfinal series versus
second seed Sacred Heart at the Milford Ice Pavilion in Milford,
Conn., on March 12-14. Sacred Heart won the season series over Holy
Cross, 3-1-0, with the Crusaders going 1-1-0 at the Milford Ice
Pavilion. The Pioneers have outscored the Crusaders by a 15-12
margin this season. Sacred Heart leads the all-time series,
23-20-1. Holy Cross is 2-8-0 in its last 10 games at the Milford
Ice Pavilion. The Crusaders are 2-0 all-time against the Pioneers
in the Atlantic Hockey Tournament. Holy Cross earned its first ever
trip to the NCAA Tournament when it defeated Sacred Heart, 4-0, in
the first ever Atlantic Hockey Tournament championship game on
March 20, 2004, in West Point, N.Y. The next season, the Crusaders
defeated the Pioneers in the quarterfinals at the Hart Center by a
4-2 score on March 12, 2005. Holy Cross is 1-5 (.167) all-time in
games on its opponent’s home ice in the Atlantic Hockey
Tournament with all of the games in the quarterfinals. The
Crusaders lost at Air Force, 3-0, in 2007, while they were swept in
a two-game series at RIT in 2008. Last season, Holy Cross lost the
series at RIT, 2-1, in 2009. The Crusaders are 4-5 (.444) all-time
in Atlantic Hockey Tournament quarterfinal games. Holy Cross has
advanced to the semifinals three times and has failed to reach the
semifinals also three times. The first four years of the tournament
the quarterfinal round was a one-game playoff. In 2004 the
Crusaders defeated AIC, in 2005 they defeated Sacred Heart, in 2006
they defeated AIC and in 2007 they lost at Air Force. The last two
seasons the quarterfinal round has been a best-two-out-three
series. In 2008, the Crusaders lost the series, 2-0, at RIT, and in
2009 they lost the series at RIT, 2-1. This was the second straight
season that Holy Cross defeated AIC in the first round at the Hart
Center as the Crusaders defeated the Yellow Jackets by a 1-0 score
in overtime last year. The Crusaders are now 4-0 all-time versus
AIC in the tournament. Holy Cross is now 6-0-0 all-time in Atlantic
Hockey Tournament games played at the Hart Center. Holy Cross
defeated Sacred Heart in 2005, AIC, UConn and Bentley in 2006 to
win the title, and the Yellow Jackets the last two seasons. With
victory over AIC, the Crusaders have a 10-6-0 (.625) all-time
record in the Atlantic Hockey Tournament as they have won two
titles (2004 & 2006). Last season, the Crusaders went 2-2 in
the tournament with a win over AIC in the first round and a 2-1
quarterfinals series defeat at RIT. In 2008, Holy Cross was swept
in the best two-out-of-three quarterfinals series at RIT as it lost
two 5-4 overtime games. In 2007, Holy Cross lost at Air Force in
the quarterfinals. In 2006 at the Hart Center, Holy Cross defeated
AIC in the quarterfinals (3-1), UConn in the semifinals (4-1) and
Bentley in the championship game (5-2), earning their second title
and second NCAA Tournament appearance. In 2005, Holy Cross defeated
Sacred Heart, 4-2, in the quarterfinals, but then fell to eventual
champion Mercyhurst, 4-3 (OT), in the semifinals. Holy Cross won
the first-ever Atlantic Hockey Tournament in 2004, earning the
program’s first ever spot in the NCAA Tournament. The
Crusaders defeated AIC (5-0), Canisius (4-1) and Sacred Heart in
the title game (4-0). In 1999, the Crusaders won the MAAC
Tournament Championship by defeating Canisius, 4-3, in the finals.
Junior Jordan Cyr recorded one goal and one assist for two points
in the victory over AIC on March 5. Cyr has at least one point in
four straight games and in seven of the last eight. He leads the
team with 13 goals, a career-best 15 assists for 28 points. Junior
Matt Celin has recorded one point in six of the last seven games
with two goals and four assists. For the season he has two goals
and a career-best eight assists for 10 points, while for his career
he has eight goals and 16 assists for 24 points. Holy Cross, who
has only averaged 2.4 goals scored per game this season, has scored
41 goals over the last 12 contests for a 3.4 goals per game
average. During these 12 games the Crusaders have a 7-4-1 record
and have outscored their opponents, 41-33. Cyr has recorded seven
goals and seven assists for 14 points in the last 12 games, while
freshman Rob Linsmayer has two goals and seven assists for nine
points. Senior Rob Forshner and Celin each have eight points as
Forshner has four goals and four assists and Celin has two goals
and six assists. Sophomore Matt Clune has seven points during this
stretch of contests with two goals and five assists. Senior Ryan
Driscoll has played 140 career games which are fourth all-time at
Holy Cross. He has 21 goals and 37 assists for 58 points, while his
13 career power play goals are tied for 10th on the all-time Holy
Cross Division I list. Junior Everett Sheen is second on the team
with 20 points with nine goals and 11 assists. Junior Mark Znutas
has an assist in three straight games. Znutas has 12 assists this
season which are third on the team. For his career, Znutas has 10
goals and 33 assists for 43 career points as he has played 106
career games. Sophomore Jay Silvia has scored four game-winning
goals so far this season which lead the team. His four game-winners
are third in the conference. Freshman goalie Thomas Tysowsky has a
2.37 goals against average which ranks second in Atlantic Hockey
and his .912 save percentage is fourth. Tysowsky’s 783 saves
are ranked second on the all-time Holy Cross Division I
single-season saves list as the record is 840 set by Tony Quesada
in the 2005-2006 season. His 2.37 goals against average is fourth
on the school’s Division I single-season list and his 11 wins
are sixth. Linsmayer scored his first collegiate game-winning goal
and also had one assist for two points in the win over AIC on March
5. Over the last 12 games he has two goals and seven assists for
nine points. For the season, Linsmayer’s 14 assists are
second on the team and his 17 points are third. His 14 assists are
the most by a Holy Cross freshman since James Sixsmith recorded 18
in the 2003-2004 season. The game on March 5 was his fourth game of
the season with two points. Senior Ian Dams is all over the
all-time Holy Cross Division I career records list. He is tied for
second all-time with 18 victories and is third with 1,201 saves,
while he is fourth with a 3.08 goals against average. Senior Brodie
Sheahan has 23 career power play goals which are third on the
all-time Holy Cross Division I list. For the season his 10 goals
are tied for second on the team and his 14 points are tied for
fourth. Sheahan has the most career goals with 40, assists with 51
and points with 91 of any current Crusader. His 40 goals are ninth
on the all-time Holy Cross Division I list and his 91 points are
10th. The Crusaders have the second ranked defense in Atlantic
Hockey by allowing only 2.69 goals per contest. HC has allowed 94
goals in 35 games. Last season, Holy Cross was sixth in the
conference with 3.42 goals allowed per contest. Out of the 25
Crusaders who have seen game action in the last 12 contests, 16 of
them have scored a goal and 19 of them have at least one point. The
Crusaders are 21-100 (.210) over the last 22 games while on the
power play. The Crusaders went 6-6-5 (.500) at home this season.
Last season Holy Cross went 7-8-2 (.471) at the Hart Center. Holy
Cross has a 300-189-33 (.606) all-time record at the Hart Center
since it started playing there in 1975-1976. The Crusaders have
played in eight overtime games this season with a 0-2-6 (.375)
record in those games. The six ties are tied for the second most
ties in a season at the school as the record is seven set in the
2007-2008 season. The most overtime games played in a single-season
at Holy Cross was last season when the Crusaders played 10 and went
2-3-5 (.450) in those games. Since the 2006-2007 season and 144
total games, the Crusaders have played 34 overtime contests with a
2-9-23 (.397) record as .236 percent of their games have gone to
overtime. The Crusaders are 6-10-1 (.382) on its opponent’s
home ice this season. Last season, HC compiled a 5-12-3 (.325)
record in away games. 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.
Holy Cross has five seniors, seven juniors, nine sophomores and six
freshmen on this year’s roster with 16 forwards, eight
defenders and three goalies.
Mercyhurst: Mercyhurst concluded its regular season the last
weekend in February at Connecticut, splitting a two-game series
with Huskies to finish at 15-18-3 overall and 15-10-3 in conference
play, good enough for fourth place…With the win on Friday,
February 26 and a Canisius loss the same night, the Lakers assured
themselves home ice in the Atlantic Hockey playoffs…The
Lakers defeated UConn 5-1 on Friday before falling 3-2 in overtime
on Saturday, marking their first loss against the Huskies since
2008…Freshman Paul Chiasson scored two goals in the first
period of the 5-1 victory…Junior Mike Gurtler also added two
goals, marking a score in each game…Junior Ryan Zapolski
went 1-1-0 on the weekend, stopping 41 shots in the win and 23 in
the loss. He now stands at 15-15-3…Freshman Grant Blakey saw
his point-streak end at eight games with a scoreless outing on
Saturday…Head coach Rick Gotkin earned his 399th career
victory on Friday…The Lakers return to action this weekend
when they host Canisius in a best-of-three series in the Atlantic
Hockey Quarterfinals. The Lakers went 1-3-0 against the Golden
Griffins during the regular season, winning their lone game on the
road by a score of 3-1.
Rochester Institute of Technology: The Tigers (22-11-1, 22-5-1
AHA) are the #1 seed in the 2010 Atlantic Hockey Tournament and
will host #9 Connecticut in a best of three series at Ritter Arena
starting on Friday at 7:05 p.m. Tickets are $10 for adults and $5
for students. RIT finished 3-1 against Connecticut this season,
outscoring them 18-4. RIT defeated Connecticut, 7-0 and 6-1 at
Ritter Arena on Oct. 30-31. The two teams split a pair of games in
Storrs on Jan. 15-16. The Tigers are 12-6-1 all-time against
Coonecticut. RIT is riding a six-game winning streak (third longest
currently in D1). The Tigers are 13-2-0 at home this season,
outscoring foes 65-26. RIT is 4-1 in AHA Playoff games at Ritter
Arena, scoring 28 goals in those contests. Freshman defenseman
Chris Tanev is among the national leaders with a plus-28 rating on
the season. Senior Dan Ringwald is tied for eighth in the nation in
scoring among defensemen with 28 points and 0.82 points per game.
The Tiger defense has seven shutouts this season, including six
over its last 15 games. The seven shutouts tie a team record, set
in 1983-84. RIT’s defense is tied for fourth nationally,
allowing just 2.18 goals per game. RIT’s offense is ninth in
nation, averaging 3.47 goals per game. RIT has excellent scoring
balance, with 10 players scoring between 7 and 13 goals, and 14
players with at least 10 points. Goaltender Jared DeMichiel is
eighth nationally with a 2.11 goals against average. He was the AHA
Goaltender of the Month in February. Sophomore Cameron Burt
recorded 15 points (2-13-15) in the month of February, spanning
eight games, and was named the AHA Player of the Month. The Tigers
are 22-6-1 over their last 29 games after starting the regular
season 0-5. Since Jan. 8, RIT is 13-3-0. RIT has won 20 games for
the third time in the last four seasons (19 in 2007-08). RIT needs
one more win to tie a DI team record for wins in a season and two
more to break the mark of 23, set last year. RIT is 77-26-9 in AHA
play over the last four seasons. The Tigers have scored a
power-play in goal in 10 straight games. RIT is 17-for-64 (26.6
percent) with the man-advantage during that time. RIT is 13th
nationally in power-play percentage, and 16th in penalty killing.
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