Sacred Heart Sweeps Into First Place
Race For First Too Close To Call
Weekly Release (PDF)

Three teams cleaned house over the weekend in Atlantic Hockey. The Pioneers were the biggest winner last week, collecting six points with three wins. While one member of the top four sat idle and three others battled it out on the ice against one another, Connecticut and Mercyhurst kept home ice hopes alive with weekend sweeps of their own, as the Huskies capped off their sweep in style during an exciting Saturday of Atlantic Hockey action at the FleetCenter in Boston. Only six points now separate first place Sacred Heart from sixth place Connecticut, and the Huskies happen to be the only team in Atlantic Hockey to have secured the season series over the Pioneers.

A six point week proved to be good enough to move the Pioneers back into first place for the first time since the beginning of December, but it wasn’t easy. Sacred Heart had to come from behind in each of the three games it played during the week. Tuesday night the Pioneers battled the Black Knights in a make-up game forced due to January weather. Trailing 1-0 after two periods of play, William Billinghurst provided the offensive outburst Sacred Heart needed, scoring both goals in the final frame and potting the game-winner came with under 90 seconds to play.

Friday night Sacred Heart headed to Worcester to battle Holy Cross with first place implications on the line. The Crusaders scored the first goal of the game early on, however the Pioneers mounted a comeback, scoring two goals in both the first and second periods en route to a 5-3 win. Sacred Heart capped off the weekend Saturday at home, rebounding from a 1-0 first period deficit to American International with a four-goal second en route to a 4-1 win. Atlantic Hockey Goaltender of the week Kevin LaPointe was between the pipes for the Pioneers for two of the three Sacred Heart wins. The Pioneers have now won five of their last six Atlantic Hockey outings.

Riding the best winning streak in five years, Quinnipiac entered the weekend with its sights set on the top of the Atlantic Hockey standings. The Bobcats pushed their impressive streak to seven games Friday night with a 6-3 win over American International, but Holy Cross slammed on the breaks for the Quinnipiac express on Saturday at the FleetCenter. After the two teams traded goals midway through the first period, the Crusaders unloaded four straight goals on the Bobcats en route to a 5-2 win, along with the season series over Quinnipiac. Freshman Ben Nelson continues to be one of the hottest skaters in Atlantic Hockey, earning Atlantic Hockey Rookie of the Week honors with a four-point weekend.

Connecticut needed overtime to overcome Bentley on Friday night, coming away with a 3-2 victory after Aaron Kakepetum netted the game-winner with under a minute remaining in the decisive session. Saturday the two teams closed out the season series under the lights of the FleetCenter, and the Huskies rolled to a weekend sweep after scoring four straight goals before surrendering one to the Falcons with under a minute to play for a 4-1 final. It sets up an interesting matchup for Tuesday night, as Holy Cross, the winner from the first game at the FleetCenter Saturday, travels to Storrs to face Connecticut.

After a devastating weekend sweep at Quinnipiac dropped the Lakers out of the top four in the Atlantic Hockey standings, Mercyhurst rebounded at home with a pair of wins over Army to keep pace with the top four. The Lakers weathered an early Black Knight storm Friday night to keep pace with Army, tying the game in the second and third periods before Atlantic Hockey Player of the Week David Wrigley netted the game-winner in overtime, completing the hat trick in the process, for a 5-4 Laker win. The next night netminder Andy Franck did most of the work for Mercyhurst, making just 23 saves in a 4-0 shutout win. Four points now separate Mercyhurst from Sacred Heart in first, and the Lakers are only one point behind fourth place Quinnipiac.

Holy Cross at Connecticut kicks off the week of action in Atlantic Hockey Tuesday night. The Crusaders could return to first place before the weekend with a win or tie, while the Huskies need all the points they can grab and a little help in order to stay in the hunt for home ice in the quarterfinals.

The weekend features a full slate of important battles, as only three weekends remain in the regular season. Bentley will travel to Army for a set of games beginning Friday evening at Tate Rink. The Falcons are at arms length from the Black Knights at the moment, however a weekend sweep for Army could put it back within striking distance of Bentley.

Holy Cross will travel Friday night to Sacred Heart for the final meeting between the two teams this season. The Crusaders took the first meeting on Tuesday, January 4, 3-2 in overtime, while the Pioneers struck the next blow last Friday, 5-3 in Worcester. The victor gets the season series, and probably the best shot for the regular season championship. Sacred Heart will close out the weekend on the road Saturday at American International.

Third place Canisius returns to action this weekend on the road at fourth place Quinnipiac. The Golden Griffins hold a slim one point advantage over the Bobcats, and the two teams tied in the first meeting of the season, 4-4 on January 4. Fifth place Mercyhurst will host sixth place Connecticut for two also this weekend. The two teams are separated by two points in the Atlantic Hockey standings.