Standings Tighten As Quinnipiac Sweeps
Six Points Separate Six Teams
Weekly Release (PDF)

Excitement was the specialty being served up by the teams of Atlantic Hockey over the weekend. Friday night, all four league games were decided by one goal - two of which came after overtime - as the eight squads combined to average 3.75 goals per team. After all was said and done Saturday night, Quinnipiac arose as the only team able of completing a weekend sweep, pushing its winning streak to a season-best four games in the process. As the nine members of Atlantic Hockey enter the final full month of league play, the race for the regular season title is still up for grabs. Second place Canisius, which sits only three points behind league-leading Holy Cross, is separated by six points from Bentley and Connecticut in a two-way tie for sixth.

While the Bobcats emerged victorious on both nights against Army, Quinnipiac had to come from behind in both contests to earn the win. Friday night the Bobcats held two separate leads through two periods at home before the Black Knights came out shooting in the third period, scoring two quick goals for a 4-2 Army advantage. Quinnipiac regrouped to tie the contest late in the period, forcing a decisive overtime that saw Atlantic Hockey Player of the Week Ben Nelson tally the game-winner, his second goal of the night.

Saturday evening the Bobcats trailed 3-2 after two but found their way in the third, as Nelson netted the game-tying goal midway through the final frame, and Reid Cashman added the winner less than a minute later. Jamie Holden made it two weeks in a row as Atlantic Hockey Goaltender of the Week, stopping 61 shots between the pipes.

The pair of wins for the fifth-place Bobcats helped them to edge closer to fourth-place Mercyhurst, which sits only one point ahead of Quinnipiac. The Lakers were only able to pick up a split on the road at Bentley, having to play catch-up Friday night but falling short by a 5-4 score before rebounding Saturday with a 4-1 win over the Falcons. Quinnipiac could be catching the Lakers at the best possible time, riding the momentum of a four-game winning streak along with having Mercyhurst making another long trek to New England this coming weekend for a pair of games in Hamden. Mercyhurst took the first meeting of the season in Erie back on January 5, by a close 3-1.

Holy Cross gained a little breathing room at the top of the Atlantic Hockey standings with a three-point performance against second-place Canisius over the weekend. Friday the Crusaders got the win over the Griffs 4-3 spurred on by two goals from Tyler McGregor. Saturday Holy Cross had the early advantage but had to battle back for a 2-2 tie.

American International raised a few eyebrows Friday evening, coming from behind on two occasions to tie host Connecticut before eventually beating the Huskies in overtime, 3-2. Atlantic Hockey Rookie of the Week Jereme Tendler gave the Yellow Jackets the win Friday, tying the game at two in the third and then scoring the game-winner seconds into overtime. Although Tendler added another goal Saturday night in the rematch against the Huskies, UConn went on to prevent the Yellow Jackets from sweeping with a 7-2 victory.

Non-conference action didn’t prove to be as successful for members of Atlantic Hockey last week. Earlier in the week, Bentley fell victim to Princeton on the road, 4-2, while Connecticut came up short in a comeback bid against Providence, 4-3. Sacred Heart headed west over the weekend to face St. Cloud State in a pair of games, but the Pioneers’ efforts proved fruitless, falling 9-1 Friday and 3-1 on Saturday.

Sacred Heart will enjoy returning to Atlantic Hockey action this coming weekend. The Pioneers will meet the Huskies in a home-home series that begins Friday in Milford. Sacred Heart will have a few things on its mind entering the series, including revenge after falling to UConn on January 18, 5-3. While Holy Cross hits the road for non-conference play in the Capital Region of New York at Union (Friday) and Rensselaer (Saturday), the Pioneers could potentially pull within one point and still have a game in hand on the Crusaders with a weekend sweep of the Huskies.

The Golden Griffins will return to New England for a second straight time this weekend when they travel to American International. The Yellow Jackets handed the then first-place Griffs a 5-2 loss back on January 14, and AIC hopes to surprise Canisius once again this weekend. The Griffs are in need of all the points they can get now in order to reclaim first place, as both Holy Cross and Sacred Heart have captured the season series against Canisius.

Mercyhurst also joins Canisius in the Eastern part of the conference once again this weekend with two games at Quinnipiac, as mentioned earlier. Army takes to the ice for a single game this weekend, when the Black Knights renew an old rivalry with the Royal Military College out of Canada. The contest will be televised live on CSTV Saturday evening beginning at 7:00 p.m.