Parity rules in Atlantic Hockey

Every Atlantic Hockey team was in action last weekend, but only Bentley and Mercyhurst came out unscathed. The Falcons picked up four points with wins over Holy Cross and Connecticut and Mercyhurst defeated Robert Morris in its only action last week.

With so much parity, it’s hard to keep track of who’s up and who’s down from week to week. Here’s a brief recap of where we are heading into Thanksgiving:

Who’s up:

  • Bentley, after wins against Holy Cross and Connecticut. Net +4 on the weekend.
  • Canisius, which played two more overtime games, picking up a win and a tie. +3
  • Army, after a big win over AIC and a tie against Sacred Heart. +3
  • Air Force, also with a win and a tie against Niagara and Canisius, respectively. +3
  • Mercyhurst, which beat host and first-place Robert Morris 3-1 in its only action. +2

Who Broke Even:

  • Holy Cross split its weekend with a road win and a home loss. +0
  • Niagara played five good periods of hockey last weekend, but had to settle for a split. +0
  • Connecticut played a pair of one-goal games. Lost one, won one. +0

Net Loses:

  • Robert Morris didn’t help itself out by gaining just a point in two games -1
  • Sacred Heart managed a point in two contests -1
  • RIT, which dropped its only game of the weekend at Niagara. -2
  • AIC: Lost a close one, and a not-so-close one. -4

Player of the Week

Point inflation – for the first four weeks of the season, five points on a weekend was good enough to get you Player of the Week honors. For the second week in a row, it’s six points.

Your USCHO AHA POTW:

Danny Colvin, Army – The junior forward had four goals and two assists to help Army to a three point weekend.

Honorables:

  • Paul Zanette, Niagara –  Zanette had a hat-trick in a 4-1 win over RIT. The senior had a power play, shorthanded and even strength goal to bring his season total to 12, tied for first in the nation.
  • Ryan Zapolski, Mercyhurst – Zapolski made 50 saves in a 3-1 win over Robert Morris last Friday.
  • Tony Capobianco, Canisius – The rookie goaltender stopped 34 saves to pick up his first collegiate win in a 3-2 overtime victory over Robert Morris.

Miscellaneous Factoids:

  • Holy Cross has already won five road games this season. Last year the Crusaders were 6-12-1 away from home.
  • Canisius senior Cory Conacher has moved into second place all-time on the Griffins’ career scoring list. He now has 120 points, 12 sof the school record set by Josh Heidinger, who set the mark last season.
  • Bentley coach Ryan Soderquist became the winningest coach in school history last Friday. He topped Jim McAdam, who recorded 101 victories between 1993 and 2002. Soderquist stands at 103 wins after the Falcons won again on Saturday.

Getting My Vote

My USCHO.com Men’s D-I Poll ballot this week:
1. Duluth
2. BU
3. UNO
4. North Dakota
5. Yale
6. UNH
7. Maine
8. Miami
9. Michigan
10. BC
11. Notre Dame
12. Union
13. Denver
14. Wisconsin
15. Alaska
16. RPI
17. Minnesota
18. Western Michigan
19. Ferris State
20. Merrimack