Visors and Risers

Credit Larry Clouse Photography  After winning the Atlantic Conference Championship with a tight 2-1 victory over the Robert Morris University Colonials and earning their bid to the NCAA tournament, not many people were expecting them to do anything but roll over and be quickly knocked out. These low expectations for teams coming out of the Atlantic Conference are not all together unwarranted as it is full of small school teams with fewer scholarships to offer and thus less appeal for players, but this year the Atlantic began to turn some heads. Credit Colorado Springs Gazette  This resurgence of the Conference was highlighted by Air Force's breakout season, which started off with a bang when they defeated Boston College, who was ranked 5th in the nation at the time, 2-1 in just their first game of the season. Throughout the season Air Force was ranked in the top 20 nationwide on two separate occasions and would eventually lead to NCAA tournament berth. This tour...

Credit NCAA.com Frozen Four Harvard (1) Vs. Minnesota Duluth (2)  The University of Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs defeated the Harvard Crimson 2-1 in the first of two semifinals at the United Center in Chicago. Harvard led the play early with quick passing in the offensive zone. Tyler Moy scored Harvard only goal at 15 minutes of the first period, entering the zone and firing it over the shoulder of Minnesota's goaltender. This would be the last impressive change they would have as the Bulldog's would continue to bully the Crimson and would score the final two goals to win the game. Minnesota will await their final team to play in the championship on Saturday night. Denver(6) Vs. Notre Dame(1)  The Denver Pioneers used a six goal offensive explosion to be the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame in the second semifinal game of the Frozen Four. This game was never close even for a second as Denver jumped on the Fighting Irish early and often. Senior forward Emil Rom...

Credit Boston.com  Round #1:  #3 Harvard (3) Vs. Providence (0) The third ranked Harvard Crimson beat up on the Providence Friars 3-0 in their first game of the tournament. Forward Tyler Moy led the Crimson with 2 goals and goaltender Merrick Madsen made 41 saves for the shutout victory. Friars goalie Hayden Hawkey stopped 26 of 28 shots in the losing effort. Air Force (5) Vs. Western Michigan (4)  In one of the biggest upsets of the first round, The Falcons of Air Force upended the Western Michigan Broncos by a score of 5-4. The Falcons were led offensively by forwards Kyle Haak (2 goals) and Jordan Himley (1 goal, 2 assists). Broncos goaltender Ben Blacker stopped 25 of the 30 shots he faced in the loss. #2 Minnesota Duluth (3) Vs. Ohio State (2) OT  The second ranked Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs barely escaped the first round with the win, beating the Ohio State Buckeyes in overtime. The scoring started off in the second period when the Bulldo...

Credit Centre Daily Times Round #1:   #1 Denver (5) Vs. Michigan Tech (2)  The number one seeded Denver Pioneers's four goal first period proved to be too much for Michigan Tech as Denver would go on to win the game 5-2. The Pioneers were led offensively by Colin Staub (2 goals) and Liam Finlay (2 assists) and Goaltender Tanner Jaillet made 16 saves on 18 shots for the victory. Michigan Tech's Gavin Gould had one goal for the Huskies. Penn State (10) Vs. Union (3)  An Impressive outing for the Nittany Lions as they used a five goal third period to blow past Union in their first ever NCAA tournament game. The Lions balanced attack was lead by forwards Nate Sucese and Chase Berger who each had 2 goals and one assist in the game. Goaltender Peyton Jones was impressive for the Lions, making 22 saves on 25 shots. Spencer Foo was the lone bright spot for Union with 2 goals. #4 Minnesota (2) Vs. Notre Dame (3)  The Fighting Irish of Notre Dame used a la...

Once a player has been drafted by an NHL team they usually take one of two different routes, either go play in one of the Junior Hockey Leagues such as the OHL or take the NCAA route and get an education while playing for their schools team. The majority of American born players tend to take the NCAA route as they are usually offered a full-ride to come and play in the very competitive atmosphere of Men's Division 1 College Hockey. However, the thing that confuses me the most is why some of these more talented players decide to leave college after only a year or two to turn pro, just as how Boston University star and Arizona Coyotes Draft pick Clayton Keller left after one year to sign with the Coyotes following the Terriers loss in the 2017 NCAA tournament . Credit Hockey Futures  How could someone who is being given four free years of higher education ever want to turn that down just for the chance to play in the NHL three years sooner? I understand that there are many fac...

Past Atlantic Conference Champions (Credit Wikipedia) Semifinal Results:  #1 Canisius Vs. #4 RMU The RMU Colonials used a three goal third period and a hat-trick from Junior Forward Brady Ferguson to beat the #1 overall seed Canisius 6-2 on Friday night. Look for Ferguson to play a deciding roll in the Championship game. #2 Air Force Vs. #3 Army Air Force rode a shutout performance from Sophomore Goaltender Shane Starett  (29 saves) to beat Army 1-0 and punch their ticket to the championship game. Junior Forward Ben Kucera  scored the game winner at the midpoint of the second period. Starett will need to have a great game in order for Air Force to be able to keep with RMU's high powered offense. Championship Game: #2 Air Force Vs. #4 RMU  Season Series: These two teams split their two game regular season series when Air Force visited RMU, with Air Force winning the first game 6-2 but losing 2-1 on the very next night. Championship History...

"Canisius Wins 2013 Championship" Courtesy Canisius Athletics Round #2 Recap:  #7 Mercyhurst (1) Vs. #3 Army (2)  The Army Black Knights barely avoided one of the largest upsets of the tournament thus far by beating the Mercyhurst Lakers in a very close 3 game series 2 games to 1. On Friday night Army exploded with 6 goals to take game #1 6-4, the Golden Knights were lead by freshman forward Brendan Soucie with 2 goals. In game #2 it took overtime but Mercyhurst was able to pull out the victory and extend their visit to West Point for another day with a 3-2 overtime victory, Sophomore Forward Matthew Whittaker  led Mercyhurst with two goals including the overtime winner. On Sunday night Army managed to sneak away with a 4-3 victory after being down 3-1 in the 2nd period.  #8 Bentley (0) Vs. #2 Air Force (2) Air Force won the battle of the Falcons this weekend by sweeping Bentley 2 games to nothing to advance to Rochester. In game #1 Air For...

Atlantic Hockey Showdown: Playoff Round #2  "RIT wins 2015 Title" (Credit Bryan Bennet)   Round #1 Results:   #10 AIC (0) Vs. #7 Mercyhurst (2) The Lakers swept the weekend behind an impressive all around team effort helping themselves get out of that three game losing streak to end the season. In Friday night's game the Lakers jumped out to a 3-0 lead before giving up three straight, Sophomore Forward Derek Barach would then score his second of the night late in the second period that eventually ended up as the game winning goal as the Lakers won 4-3. Saturday's game was a different story however, as the Lakers used a 4 goal second and 24 saves from Junior Goaltender Brandon Wildung to roll over AIC 5-0 and earn a sweep to move on to the next round. #11 Niagara (2) Vs. #6 RIT (1)  In easily the biggest upset of the playoffs thus far, the Niagara Purple Eagles managed to take down RIT, winning two out of the three games on the weekend. Niagara would...

Atlantic Hockey Rankings  1- Canisius  2- Air Force  3- Army  4- RMU  5- Holy Cross  6- RIT  7- Mercyhurst  8- Bentley  9- Sacred Heart  10- AIC  11- Niagara  Playoff Round #1 (March 3rd-5th) This round is a best of 3 game series hosted by the higher. The top 5 teams in the conference receive a bye and will host the winners from round #1  #11 Niagara Vs. #6 RIT  - RIT will be hosting this series at the Gene Polisseni Center  in Rochester, NY  - RIT swept the regular season series against Niagara, beating Niagara 7-1 and 6-2  - Niagara is currently on a 12 game losing streak  #10 AIC Vs. #7 Mercyhurst  - Mercyhurst will be hosting this series at the Mercyhurst Ice Center in Erie, PA  - Mercyhurst split the season series with AIC, losing the first game 3-5 but coming back the next night and winning 6-3 - Mercyhurst is currently ...

Saturday February 25, 2017  Mercyhurst Ice Center, Erie PA    Mercyhurst Lakers (12-17-4, 5th in Atlantic Conference)    Vs.  RIT Tigers (12-15-0, 8th in Atlantic Conference)                                                              Photo Credit- Omar Phillips Mercyhurst Lakers:  After finishing 4th in the Atlantic last season (15-9-4) the Lakers have had a tough time getting on any sort of prolonged run throughout the season. Mercyhurst is currently in 5th place following a 4-0 loss to Canisius on Thursday night. - Sophomore Defenseman Les Lancaster  (Ypsilanti, Mich) has been a rock on defense for the Lakers this season, posting 21 points (5 goals, 16 assists) in 32 games this season - Freshman goaltender Colin DeAugustine has posted a record of 5-6-2 with a 2.95 goals...

Credit USCHO.com On Thursday, night the Canisius Golden Griffins laid an absolute beat down on the Mercyhurst Lakers, which was also their last home game of the season as well as their senior night. Canisius scored early in the game and never looked back, Sophomore Defenseman Alex Jaeckle scored at 4:17 of the first period. This started off a torrid three goal first period for the Griffins which would eventually chase Lakers goaltender Brandon Wildung from the net going into the second period. Jaeckle’s game winner was his third goal as well as his third game-winning goal of the season. Senior goaltender Charles Williams set school records in wins with 19 and shutouts with 5 and the Griffins extended their unbeaten streak to 15 games, the longest active unbeaten streak in the entire nation. Canisius wraps up the season with a record of 21-11-7 and is guaranteed a first round bye heading into the Atlantic Hockey Tournament. Mercyhurst drops to a record of 15-...

Thursday February 23, 2017  HarborCenter, Buffalo NY   Canisius Golden Griffins (18-10-7, 1st in Atlantic Conference)   Vs.  Mercyhurst Lakers (12-16-4, 5th in Atlantic Conference)                                                         Courtesy: www.tomwolf.smugmug.com On a Thursday evening contest the Atlantic leading Canisius Griffins take on the Mercyhurst Lakers in a pivotal conference matchup. Although every team in the Atlantic is guaranteed a spot in the playoffs, positioning is still up in the air. Atlantic Hockey Playoffs Explained:  - There are 11 total teams in the Atlantic Conference - The top 5 teams are given a first round bye while the bottom 6 teams are paired up and play a best of 3 game series hosted by the higher seeded team (Round 1 will take place March 3rd-5th) - ...

Credit Elite Prospects  With the 2018 Winter Olympics in South Korea  less than a year away and NHL still not having any set plans in place for their sending their players to these games, it is looking as if the biggest hockey league in North America will not be participating. This does not come as a huge shock to any around the game as for the past couple Winter Olympics there has been complaints from fans and owners alike that stopping the NHL season right near the end to go and play in international competition was too disruptive to the league and its players. Although this closes the door for any player under NHL contract from playing for any nation in these games, it opens the door for players who might not otherwise get this opportunity. Enter Ryan Zapolski ... Credit Getty Images An Erie, PA native and four year goaltender at Mercyhurst University Zapolski never really found any traction in North American Professional leagues after his graduation. Followin...