Atlantic Hockey Recap from October 20, 2012

HOLY CROSS 3, CLARKSON 1 - BOXSCORE

Courtest of Holy Cross Athletic Communications

POTSDAM, N.Y. – Junior Adam Schmidt (Warrington, Pa.) scored the game-winning goal to break a 1-1 tie in the second period as the Holy Cross men's hockey team defeated Clarkson, 3-1, at Cheel Arena on Saturday evening in non-conference action. With the win, the Crusaders improve to 2-0-0 overall, while the Golden Knights fall to 0-3-0 overall. The Crusaders' 2-0-0 start to the season is their best since going 4-0-0 to begin the 2005-2006 season. The Crusaders defeated AIC 6-2 in the season-opener on Oct. 16 as their nine total goals are their most in the first two games since they scored a total of 10 over the first two games of the 2001-2002 season. Holy Cross is now 1-1-0 all-time versus Clarskon.

The Crusaders took a 1-0 lead at 14:33 of the first period when sophomore Jake Youso (International Falls, Minn.) found the back of the net for the second time this season. Senior Evan Zych (Kilbride, Ontario) posted an assist on the goal. The Golden Knights tied the contest just 1:56 later with a power play goal by Joe Zarbo. Clarkson outshot Holy Cross, 15-14 for the period, while the Crusaders went 0-1 on the power play and the Golden Knights went 1-3.

Schmidt gave the Crusaders a 2-1 lead at 18:45 of the second period when he scored his first goal of the season. SophomoreNilan Nagy (Canonsburg, Pa.) and Zych tallied assists. Clarkson outshot Holy Cross by a 7-6 margin, while the Crusaders went 0-2 on the man-advantage.

At 8:50 of the third period, senior Brandon Nunn (Fairport, N.Y.) scored a goal on a penalty shot to increase the lead to 3-1. The goal was his second of the season. The Crusaders were able to keep the Golden Knights from scoring in the third period to earn the 3-1 win.

Sophomore goalie Matt Ginn (Lindsay, Ontario) was outstanding as he made 36 saves to improve to 2-0-0 on the season, while Greg Lewis posted 23 saves. Clarkson outshot Holy Cross, 37-26, while the Crusaders went 0-4 on the power play and the Golden Knights went 1-4.

The Crusaders return to action when they play their first two home games of the season at the Hart Center on Oct. 26-27. On Friday, the Crusaders will meet UConn at 7:00 p.m., while on Saturday they will play Army at 7:00 p.m.

ARMY 4, SACRED HEART 4 (OT) - BOXSCORE

Courtesy of Sacred Heart Athletic Communications

MILFORD, Conn. – Joe Kozlak scored a game-tying goal with 33 seconds left in regulation for the Army Black Knights, forcing the Sacred Heart Men’s Hockey team to settle for a 4-4 tie Saturday night in the home opener at the Milford Ice Pavilion. 

Kozlak jammed the puck from behind the net off a body in front to tie the game with the Army goalie off for the extra attacker.  Thane Heller and Andy Starczewski earned the assists, also poking away at the puck in a scrum behind the net.

In a back-and-forth game throughout, Army answered every one of SHU’s four goals.  The Pioneers struck for the go-ahead goal at 11:35 of the third on a tip-in by Morgan Boner (Aurora, ON) for his first career goal.  Nick Curry (Augusta, GA) skated out of the corner to the right point and sailed a wrist shot into traffic, which Bonner redirected to give SHU a 4-3 lead.

The Pioneers scored a goal late in the second to go up 3-2 before the intermission.  Kyle Verbeek (Birmingham, MI) tipped in a blast from the right point by Matthew Solomon (Toronto, ON), set up first by Chad Filteau (Regina, SK) for a power play goal with 11 seconds left.  However, Andy Starczewski tied the game for Army 7:35 into the third with his fourth goal of the weekend, sniping a wrist shot under the crossbar blocker-side on the rush.  Willie Faust and Luke Jenkins assisted the goal.

Eric Delong (Oakville, MB) opened the scoring 1:09 into the game, assisted by Brian Sheehan (St. Louis, MO).  The Black Knights responded on a goal by Josh Richards on a two-man advantage, letting a shot fly from the right faceoff circle after puck movement between Maurice Alvarez and Luke Jenkins. 

Sheehan put SHU back on top with a two-man advantage goal at 4:03, finishing off tick-tack-toe passing from Drew George (Regina, SK) and Jared Eng (West Vancouver, BC).  However, Army once again tied it on a power play goal by Faust, who gathered a blocked shot for a near-post wrister from Jonathan Gehrt and Kozlak at 15:02 of the second.

Sacred Heart returns to action Saturday night, October 27 at 7:05 pm when the Pioneers host the Penn State Nittany Lions at the Milford Ice Pavilion.

Courtesy of Army Athletic Communications

MILFORD, Conn. – Four different players scored goals as Army skated to a 4-4 overtime tie with Sacred Heart, Saturday in an Atlantic Hockey Association contest at the Milford Ice Pavilion.

Army fought back from three deficits and netted the tying goal with 33 seconds left to move to 1-2-1 overall and 1-0-1 on the season. Sacred Heart is 0-3-1, 0-2-1.

Josh Richards, Willie Faust, Andy Starczewski and Joe Kozlak scored goals for Army while Luke Jenkins collected a pair of assists. Maurice Alvarez, Jonathan Gehrt, Thane Heller, Kozlak, Faust and Starczewski all registered assists.

Army goalie Rob Tadazak made 25 saves to earn the tie.

Army scored early in Friday’s victory. Saturday, it was Sacred Heart that got the early goal as Eric Delong blasted home his second goal of the season a minute into the contest.

The Black Knights had to kill off a charging penalty 90 seconds later and then another penalty later in the period and trailed 1-0 after the first 20 minutes despite a 19-13 advantage in shots on goal.

Army started the second period on the power play and then had a 5-on-3 advantage after an interference whistle. The Black Knights came out firing on and Richards was rewarded when he tapped in a rebound of an Alvarez shot. Jenkins got the puck to Alvarez who shot from inside the blue line. Richards hustled to corral the loose puck for his second goal of the season. It was also the second assist for Alvarez.

Sacred Heart had a 5-on3 of its own shortly after following penalties for slashing and too many men on the ice. Sacred Heart capitalized as Brian Sheehan gave the Pioneers a 2-1 lead

Faust netted his first collegiate goal to tie the game with five minutes left in the second period. With a Sacred Heart player off for roughing, Faust knocked home the rebound of a Gehrt shot. Kozlak set the play up with a nice pass for his third assist of the season. It was the second point this season for Faust and the first for Gehrt.

The Pioneers went back on top with a power play goal by Kyle Verbeek with 12 seconds left in the second period.

Army tied the game again eight minutes into the final period. Jenkins collected a loose puck in the Army end and got the puck to Faust. Faust went across the ice to Starczewski who fired in a wrist shot for his fourth goal of the weekend.

The Pioneers, playing on home ice for the first time this season, went back on top with an even-strength goal from Moran Bonner with 8:25 remaining.

Army continued to apply offensive pressure and pulled Tadazak with 1:20 left to play. The Black Knights extra attacker paid off when Kozlak scored with just 33 seconds left, his first career goal. Heller earned the assist.

In overtime, Army had several chances but was unable to break the tie.

Army will return to Tate Rink and host Penn State on Friday, Oct. 26 at 7:05 p.m.

MERCYHURST 3, #16 FERRIS STATE 3 (OT) - BOXSCORE

Courtesy of Mercyhurst Athletic Communications

BIG RAPIDS, Mich. - Three players tallied a goal and an assist and sophomore goaltender Jimmy Sarjeant stopped 39 shots on goal as the Mercyhurst University men's hockey team played to a 3-3 overtime tie against #16 Ferris State on Saturday night at the Ewigleben Ice Arena. The Lakers, who unofficially won the game in a shootout on a goal by sophomore Nardo Nagtzaam, moved to 0-2-1 on the young season. Meanwhile, the Bulldogs moved to 1-1-2 on the year.

Sarjeant made just his second collegiate start on Saturday night and turned aside a career-high 39 shots in 42 attempts by the Bulldgogs. His only other start came on December 31, 2011 when he led the Lakers to a 4-3 victory at Alabama-Huntsville.

Seniors Grant Blakey and Paul Chiasson, along with sophomore Ryan Misiak each had a goal and an assist in the contest. Misiak continued his fine start to the season and now leads the team in scoring with two goals and two assists through the first three games.

Misiak, in fact, got the Lakers on the board first with his second goal of the season at the 9:36 mark of the opening period. Chiasson and Blakey had the assists on Mercyhurst's first power play goal of the year. It also marked the first time this season that the Lakers played with a lead.

Just 1:45 later, Chiasson found the back of the net behind Ferris State goaltender CJ Motte, giving the Lakers a 2-0 advantage. Chiasson's goal also came on the power play, as Mercyhurst finished the night 2-for-8 with the man advantage. Misiak and fellow sophomore Daniel Bahntge had the assists.

Ferris State would come back, solving Sarjeant at the 14:28 mark of the opening period on a goal by Eric Alexander, who was later given a five-minute major for contact to the head and a corresponding game misconduct. Justin Buzzeo and Nate Milam had the helpers.

The Bulldogs outshot Mercyhurst 13-6 in the opening twenty minutes.

Ferris State would waste little time at the outset of the second period to knot the game at 2-2. Andy Huff notched a power play goal just 48 seconds into the middle stanza for his third goal of the weekend and of the season. Cory Kane had the assist.

But, Mercyhurst came right back. Blakey responded 65 seconds later, at the 1:53 mark, to recpature the one-goal lead with an even-strength goal. Sophomore defensemanGrant Gettinger had the lone assist on the goal.

Ferris State again outshot Mercyhurst, this time by a 16-10 margin in the second period.

Mercyhurst would cling to the one-goal advantage until the Bulldogs tied the game at 3-3 with 5:52 left in regulation. Justin DeMartino was credited with the tying goal with the assists going to Travis White and to Huff.

Neither team would score throughout the remainder of regulation and through the overtime period, during which the Lakers outshot Ferris State 3-0. The game went to a shootout as mandated by the Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA). Nagtzaam was the first player in the shootout and he beat Motte to give the Lakers the advantage. Sarjeant stood tall, stopping all three shootout attempts, including a glove save on Simon Denis in the final round to secure the shootout win. The game, however, goes in the records as a tie.

Ferris State outshot the Lakers 42-25 for the game. Sarjeant was brilliant, stopping 39 shots to move to 0-0-1 on the season and 1-0-1 in his career. Motte stopped 22-of-25 Laker shots to move to 1-1-2 on the young season.

The Lakers will have next weekend off and then will jump back into conference play against the Pioneers of Sacred Heart on Friday, November 2 and Saturday, November 3. Mercyhurst swept a two-game series with the Pioneers last season at the Ice Center. Faceoff for Friday's game is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. while Saturday's tilt is slated for 4:05 p.m. from the Arena at Harbor Yard in Bridgeport, Connecticut.

NIAGARA 3, MICHIGAN STATE 3 (OT) - BOXSCORE

Courtesy of Niagara Athletic Communications

EAST LANSING, Mich. - Twice the Niagara men's hockey team held the lead over Michigan State, but the Purple Eagles had to settle for a 3-3 draw as the Spartans battled back for the second time in two nights at Munn Ice Arena on Saturday evening.  

With 44 seconds remaining in the contest and the Purple Eagles (1-2-2) en route to a 3-2 victory, the Spartans (1-2-1) pulled goalie Will Yanakeff for the extra man and received the game-tying goal from left winger Brent Darnell off a rebound.  

The teams battled into overtime, with MSU finding six looks on net to Niagara's one, but neither team could find the back of the net.  

"That was a hard fought weekend," head coach David Burkholder said.  "We won four out of six periods on the weekend and only come out of it with a road tie which is unfortunate."

After seeing its two-goal lead erased with a pair of third period tallies from the Spartans, Niagara right winger Dan Kolenda gave NU the 3-2 advantage with less then 10 minutes remaining in the game.  Yanakeff attempted to control a Patrick Divjak dump in, but the puck bounced over his stick to Kolenda who pounced on the mistake and snapped home his first goal as a Purple Eagle, but the team was unable to hold onto the lead.  

"We have to be better when we have the lead especially against CCHA teams on the road," Burkholder added.  "We had a lot of guys that played really well this weekend though, especially tonight."  

For the second straight night, the Purple Eagles were the first team to get on the scoreboard.  Niagara was whistled for a boarding penalty early in the opening period, but did not sit back on the man-disadvantage. connected with a streaking Chris Lochner who buried the puck blocker side of Yanakeff 4:53 into the contest for a shorthanded tally.  

Niagara’s powerplay unit came through in the second stanza after defender RJ Boyd was called for roughing with 14:12 on the clock.  With 34 seconds remaining on the man-advantage, right winger Ryan Rashid picked up a pass along the boards from Divjak and let a slapper fly from the point that was tipped in by Giancarlo Iuorio with a 7:14 remaining in the period. 

Greg Wolfe gave the Spartans hope in the opening minutes of the final period as the winger tipped in a feed from Lee Reimer past NU keeper Carsen Chubak to cut the Purple Eagles lead to one goal 3:21 into the stanza.  

MSU continued its second comeback in two nights against the Purps as center Matt DeBlouw tallied the initial game-tying goal off an assist from Brent Darnell with 12:20 on the clock to make it 2-2.  

Chubak made his second-straight start between the pipes, pushing aside 35 Spartan shots.  

#12 WESTERN MICHIGAN 2, CANISIUS 1 - BOXSCORE

Courtesy of Canisius Athletic Communications

Kalamazoo, Mich. – The 12th-ranked Western Michigan Broncos used a late goal to edge the Canisius College hockey team on Saturday night, 2-1. The loss drops the Griffs to 1-3-0 on the season, while Western Michigan improves to 3-1-0.

PENN STATE 3, RIT 2 - BOXSCORE

Courtesy of RIT Sports Information

ROCHESTER, N.Y. – The RIT men’s hockey team out-shot Penn State 40-22, including 33-10 over the final two periods, but fell to the Nittany Lions, 3-2 in front of a sellout crowd of 10,556 fans at Blue Cross Arena in downtown Rochester on Saturday evening. The game was the focal point of Brick City Homecoming and Family Weekend.

Down 3-1 late in the third period, Jeff Smith (Spokane, WA) crashed the net and scored on a rebound to cut the Penn State lead to 3-2 with 5:10 left in regulation. Just 57 seconds later, Penn State’s George Saad was given a five-minute major and game misconduct for hitting Anthony Hamburg (Phoenix, AZ/Millard North) violently from behind into the boards. Hamburg walked off the ice under his own power.

RIT played the final 4:13 with a power-play, but could not convert. RIT had 11 shots over the final power-play, but Penn State goaltender P.J. Musico kept the Tigers off the scoreboard, making a few key saves. The Penn State penalty-killing unit did a good job keeping a lot of RIT shots to the outside.
The Tigers pulled goaltender Josh Watson (Lititz, PA) for the extra attacker with 1:24 left, but could not get the tying goal.

Ben Lynch (Blaine, MN) scored a goal and added an assist for RIT. Watson made 19 saves in the loss. RIT was 0-for-4 with the man-advantage.

Curtis Loik, Casey Bailey, and Max Gardiner scored for the Nittany Lions. Musico was stellar in the win, stopping 40-of-42 shots to be named the game’s third star. Penn State was 1-for-2 on the power-play.

RIT Head Coach Wayne Wilson was not happy with how his team competed tonight.

“We played with no edge and no sense of urgency until the third period,” said Wilson. “We allowed Penn State to get comfortable and they took advantage. We need to play much better.”

Penn State scored the lone goal in a hard-hitting first period of play, which saw the Nittany Lions out-shoot RIT 12-9.

Penn State had the first four shots of the game, but RIT received a power-play early on and did everything but score. Musico made a great save on a shot by Brad McGowan (Langley, British Columbia/Walnut Grove) with the rebound going to Adam Mitchell (Crofton, MD) who looked to have a wide open net in front, but Penn State defenseman Nate Jensen dove across to knock the puck away at the last second before it crossed the line.

Later in the frame, Mitchell took a perfect feed on the rush from Smith, but just put the shot wide. Hamburg had two great chances foiled by Musico, the second going off a defenseman’s skate and nearly in.

Penn State got on the board in the final seconds of the period, taking advantage of miscommunication between Watson and a defenseman. The puck came harmlessly to Watson at the right post and he looked to cover the puck, but it was knocked away by Kenny Brooks. David Glen quickly found Loik all alone at the doorstep and Loik was able to hammer the puck into the open net for the 1-0 lead. It was Loik’s first collegiate goal.

Both teams scored a goal in the second period, as RIT held a 13-5 edge in shots and started to carry the play.

Lynch tallied his first goal of the season just 1:59 into the period to tie the game at 1-1. Mitchell crunched a Penn State player with a clean, devastating check into the boards behind the net, forcing a turnover. He then stole the loose puck and fed Lynch who was all alone in front. Lynch made no mistake, rocketing a shot over the shoulder of Musico for the goal.

RIT carried play for the next few minutes, peppering the Penn State net, but Musico was solid in turning away a few big shots.

Penn State re-took its 2-1 lead at the 8:06 mark, taking advantage of a Tiger defenseman who fell in his own zone while attempting to break out. Michael McDonagh stole the puck and tipped a pass to Max Gardner, who fed Bailey, who was all alone on Watson. Watson made the first save, as Bailey tried to go between the legs, but the rebound came back to Bailey, who swatted it out of midair to tally his second goal of the year.

RIT kept the pressure up later in the period and nearly had the game tied, when Greg Noyes (Lucan, Ontario) walked around a Penn State player along the boards and fed Dan Schuler (Webster, NY/Choate Rosemary Hall) who looked to have an open net. Schuler was cross checked by Rich O’Brien, drawing a penalty, but the tip went just wide.

Schuler was stopped by Musico in tight late in the period.

Penn State scored the eventual game-winning goal, on the power-play at the 6:53 mark, as Gardiner fired a shot past Watson from the slot after a shot by Joseph Lordo was blocked. Bailey won the faceoff back to Lordo, whose shot went off a RIT defenseman. The rebound went right to Gardiner who fired a low shot past Watson from point blank range for his third goal of the year.

The Nittany Lions nearly put the game out of reach moments later, as Jonathan Milley came in on a breakaway and made a great move that had Watson beat, but the puck went off the post and out.

Smith made the game tight with his third goal in the last two games at the 14:50 mark. Lynch carried the puck into the zone and fired a shot from the right side boards which Musico stopped. The rebound came to Brad Reid (Delta, British Columbia/South Delta) who tipped a pass to Smith crashing the net. Smith corralled the puck with his skate and flipped a shot over Musico for the goal.

RIT is now 6-8-1 all-time at Blue Cross Arena and 2-3-1 there for the annual Brick City Homecoming and Family Weekend game. It is the third straight season that the Brick City Homecoming and Family Weekend game has sold out. This year, the game sold out on Tuesday at 12 p.m., 103 hours before the start, a new record.

Tonight’s contest was the first between RIT and Penn State. Penn State is playing in its first season as a Division I program.

The Tigers return to action on Thursday, as they play their first Atlantic Hockey Association contest of the season against Robert Morris at Ritter Arena. The puck drops at 7:05 p.m.

#7 DENVER 5, AIR FORCE 2 - BOXSCORE

Courtesy of Air Force Athletic Communications

DENVER, Colo.  – Pioneer center Nick Shore netted a hat trick as seventh-ranked Denver beat Air Force, 5-2, in a non-conference college hockey game Saturday, Oct. 20, at Magness Arena in Denver, Colo. Air Force falls to 0-2-2 overall while Denver improved to 2-0.

Denver opened the scoring late in the first period on a power-play goal by Nick Shore. After a flurry in front, Nolan Zajac’s shot was saved and Shore put back the rebound for his first of the season. The Pioneers took a 2-0 lead midway through the second period on Shore’s second of the game. The Pioneers won a faceoff in the offensive zone and Chris Knowlton found Shore wide open in the slot at the 11:56 mark.

Air Force got on the board early in the third period as Jason Fabian fed Casey Kleisinger in the slot. Kleisinger skated down the center of the ice and scored his first of the season at 2:56 of the third. The Pioneers lit the lamp 60 seconds later as Shore netted the hat trick. His third of the game came at the 3:56 mark of the third period as he tipped in a point shot by Dakota Mermis. The Pioneers took a 4-1 lead at 7:42 on the power play. Shore made a pass to the center point and Joey Laleggia pounded a shot down the slot for his first of the season. Air Force answered 40 seconds later as Cole Gunner forced a turnover in the Pioneers end. Tony Thomas sent a pass wide of the net and Chad Demers tipped it in at 8:22 for his first of the season. His goal cut the Pioneer lead to 4-2. With 3:10 left in the third, Air Force pulled goalie Jason Torf from the net in favor of the extra attacker. The Falcons had several flurries in front, but the Pioneers sealed the win with an empty-netter by Zac Larraza with 16 seconds remaining.

Denver outshot Air Force, 42-24, in the game. DU was 2-for-3 on the power play while AFA was 0-for-4. Denver won 32 of the 50 faceoffs in the game. Torf made 37 saves for the Falcons while Adam Murray made 22 for the Pioneers.

“ We took a step in the right direction,” head coach Frank Serratore said. “We were better tonight. DU imposed their will on us tonight and scored some nice goals. We are going to be a work in progress this season. As a team, we have to be better and we were better tonight. Jason Torf proved he is a quality goaltender this weekend. You wouldn’t know it looking at the box score, but he was really good.”

Air Force travels east to open Atlantic Hockey play next weekend as the Falcons play at Canisius, Oct. 25 in Buffalo, and at Robert Morris, Oct. 27, in Pittsburgh.