Black Knights Ride Out of Weekend With Four Points
American International Upends Another First Place Team
Weekly Release (PDF)

The more things change, the more they stay the same. The old cliche seems to have become the status quo in Atlantic Hockey as of late. For the third straight week, first place in the Atlantic Hockey standings is separated from fourth place by four points or less. Each of the top four teams split in league action during the week, while at the other end of the spectrum Army picked up a weekend sweep over Bentley and American International won its lone game of the week with a surprising win over first-place Sacred Heart. With only two weekends left in the regular season, the question of which team will finish in the top spot in Atlantic Hockey come the evening of March 5 will have a climatic finish.

The Black Knights kept hopes of finishing in seventh alive over the weekend with a sweep of visiting Bentley. The Falcons jumped out to an early lead on Troy Wiebler’s first goal of the season midway through the first, but Army responded with three goals in just over five minutes before the end of the first frame for a 3-1 advantage after twenty. Bentley kept it close, but couldn’t get any closer after making it 3-2 midway through the third. Saturday night Bentley scored the game’s first goal in the first once again, however a balanced attack from the Black Knights completed the four-point weekend, as Army came away with a 3-1 win. Atlantic Hockey Goaltender of the Week Brad Roberts backboned the Black Knight defense through the weekend series, stopping 31 shots on 34 attempts in Army’s first weekend sweep of the season.

Sacred Heart retained first place at the conclusion of the week, after briefly being displaced by second-place Holy Cross earlier in the week with a 5-0 shutout of Connecticut Tuesday. The then second-place Pioneers hosted the first-place Crusaders Friday night in front of a packed house at the Milford Ice Pavilion, with the victor coming away with first in Atlantic Hockey for the remainder of the weekend. The Pioneers were able to hold off the Crusaders in the end for a hard-fought 2-1 win, along with taking the season series in the process, 2-1.

American International proved to be the spoiler for Sacred Heart Saturday night though, preventing the Pioneers from increasing their lead over second-place Holy Cross with a 4-1 Yellow Jacket win. Atlantic Hockey Player of the Week Jeff Valdes picked up the game’s first goal and added an insurance marker in the third, as AIC scored three straight before Sacred Heart was able to get on the board.

While the top two teams traded blows Friday evening in Milford, third place Canisius and fourth place Quinnipiac competed only minutes away, each hoping to gain some ground on not only the leaders, but also each other. In the first of two meetings on the weekend, the Golden Griffins came out strong, scoring the first goal of the game minutes into the first period, and adding to their lead in the second. Quinnipiac bounced back before the end of the second to cut the Canisius advantage to one, and although the Bobcats had the territorial advantage in the third - Quinnipiac outshot Canisius 23 to 7 in the third - the Griffs were able to hold on for the win.

Quinnipiac returned the favor Saturday night, blowing past Canisius with an 8-1 win to keep pace with the Griffs and the rest of the leaders. Atlantic Hockey Rookie of the Week Ben Nelson earned his third award in the month of February from the conference, posting an assist on the lone Quinnipiac goal Friday, followed by his second hat trick of the season Saturday. Despite playing in only 15 conference games this year, Nelson has 15 goals in league play, tying him for first overall in the league in that category with Pierre-Luc O’Brien.

Connecticut traveled to Mercyhurst for a pair of games over the weekend, with both teams needing a strong weekend in order to stay alive in the hunt for home ice in the quarterfinals. The Huskies took the first meeting Friday night, a 4-3 overtime decision. UConn held the lead after one period, 2-0, but the Lakers scored three straight in the second for a 3-2 lead after two. The Huskies tied the contest midway through the third, and Chris Uber potted the decisive goal 21 seconds into overtime. The Lakers rebounded Saturday night, picking up a 3-1 win to stay within striking distance of the top four teams in Atlantic Hockey

The week kicks off on Wednesday as Quinnipiac heads to AIC in the second meeting of the season between the two. Both teams have played the least amount of games at the moment in league play (19), and a win before the weekend would provide a boost in the standings for either squad.

American International will cap off the week on the road at Army. The two clubs still have a shot at overtaking seventh-place Bentley, just four points above either team at the moment. AIC won the first meeting of the season on November 12, a 2-0 shutout in Springfield.

Mercyhurst can keep home ice hopes a reality this weekend, however the competition will be stiff. The Lakers hit the road for the final time this season with a pair of games at Holy Cross, a Crusader squad that registered a come-from-behind 5-4 win over the Lakers in January.

Rivals Sacred Heart and Quinnipiac embark on a home-home series starting Friday night at the Northford Ice Pavilion. Quinnipiac still has a shot at first place, and a pair of wins would improve the Bobcats’ odds.

Bentley continues play on the road this week, as the Falcons head to Buffalo for two at Canisius. Connecticut is idle this weekend.