Unlike the first round of the Atlantic Hockey playoffs where the road teams triumphed, all four home teams won their best-of-three quarterfinal series. Three of the series were sweeps. Recaps and box scores are here.
That means the following games are slated for Friday in Rochester:
No. 6 Connecticut vs. No. 1 RIT
No. 3 Holy Cross at No. 2 Air Force
The Tiger swept UConn during the regular season, were 1-0-1 against Holy Cross and 1-1-1 against Air Force. The Falcons were were 1-0-1 against both Holy Cross and UConn. Holy Cross was 2-1 against UConn.
Check back on Friday for my picks.
USCHO.com AHA Player of the Week:
Kyle Fletcher, Holy Cross – The sophomore had a monster weekend, tallying four goals and two assists to help the Crusaders to a 2-1 quarterfinal series win over Canisius. Fletcher had a hat-trick in Sunday’s deciding game. His 38 points leads the team.
Honorables:
Adam Schmidt, Holy Cross – Schmidt was another Crusader who had a big weekend. The rookie had two goals and three assists in three games against Canisius.
Shane Madolora, RIT – Madolora improved his already impressive numbers by stopped 60 of 61 shots to help the Tigers to a sweep of American International. He posted his sixth shutout of the season in a 5-0 win Friday. Madolora leads Division I with a .934 save percentage.
Jacques Lamouruex, Air Force – The senior had three goals and an assist to help the Falcons to a sweep of Sacred Heart. Lamoureux now has 41 points, the third straight season he has tallied as least 40.
Kyle Gibbons, Canisius – The Rookie lit the lamp three times last weekend, including the game-tying goal with 3.5 seconds left and the game-winner in overtime on Saturday.
Garrett Bartus, Connecticut – Mercyhurst outshot UConn 87-58 last weekend, but Bartus was the difference, making 82 saves including 53 on Saturday to lead the Huskies to a sweep of the Lakers. He ranks second in the nation with 1078 saves this year.
Tom Janosz, Connecticut - The sophomore has just two career goals, but his second on was huge – the game winner in overtime against Mercyhurst on Saturday.
Corey Jendras, Connecticut – The junior had a hat-trick including the game-winne in the Huskies’ 5-2 win on Friday.
Finishing Strong
It’s no surprise that Air Force advanced to Rochester – it would have been unprecedented if the Falcons had not. Air Force’s admittance to Atlantic Hockey coincided with the championships moving to Rochester, and the Falcons have been there every year since.
Air Force is 15-2 all-time in the AHA playoffs, with both loses coming to Sacred Heart, once in best-of-three series in 2009 that the Falcons eventually won, and the other in last year’s semifinals.
“This team has far exceeded my expectations,” said coach FRank Serratore after his team closed out Sacred Heart on Saturday. “We were picked to finish third and I said early in the season that I would have done cartwheels if we finished third. Instead, these guys win 18 games and we couldn’t be in a better place right now, feeling good about ourselves heading to Rochester.”
Getting My Vote
My USCHO.com Men’s D-I Poll ballot this week:
1. North Dakota
2. Boston College
3. Michigan
4. Miami
5. Denver
6. Yale
7. Merrimack
8. New Hampshire
9. Union
10. Duluth
11. Notre Dame
12. Western Michigan
13. Colorado College
14. UNO
15. Dartmouth
16. BU
17. Maine
18. Wisconsin
19. RPI
20. RIT
