The New Year’s Edition of three things I learned from Atlantic Hockey play this weekend:
– There is no Catamount Cup. A tournament yes, a trophy…
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Rochester Institute of Technology knocked off a pair of ranked teams at the Catamount Cup (the tournament). The Tigers defeated No. 11 Ferris State 3-0 on Thursday and then bested No. 16 Lake Superior State 3-1 to win the Cup (the tournament). RIT defenseman Chris Saracino was named the MVP with a goal and two assists. Shane Madolora recorded his eighth career shutout, extending what is already a school record in its Division I era. Sophomore Josh Watson won the second game, his first NCAA victory.
– Three out of ten ain’t bad. The league was just 13-46-8 in non-conference play going into this week, so going 3-7 improved Atlantic Hockey’s winning percentage. All three wins came against ranked teams, with RIT winning the aforementioned pair, and Air Force defeating cross-town rival Colorado College 2-1. Connecticut and Robert Morris also played well against ranked opponents but ultimately come up short with the Colonials falling to Ohio State 4-2 with an empty-net goal and the Huskies dropping the championship game of their tournament 3-2 in overtime.
– Highs and lows come be extreme in a 24 hour period. On Friday night, Air Force won for the first time at the Colorado Springs World Arena, defeating fifth-ranked Colorado College 2-1. But the following evening in front of 2,812 fans at Cadet Arena, Air Force was thumped by No. 15 Denver 7-1. “Last night we showed what we are capable of and tonight showed that we still have some work to do,” said Air Force coach Frank Serratore.
Getting my vote:
Here’s my ballot for this week’s USCHO.com Poll:
1. Minnesota-Duluth
2. Ohio State
3. Notre Dame
4. Minnesota
5. Boston College
6. Merrimack
7. Colorado College
8. Colgate
9. Western Michigan
10. Boston University
11. Denver
12. Mass-Lowell
13. Union
14. Ferris State
15. North Dakota
16. Michigan
17. Yale
18. Lake Superior
19. Michigan State
20. Air Force
