Three things I leaned from the first weekend of play in Atlantic Hockey
– For some teams, there are no moral victories. “We are way past moral victories,” Air Force coach Frank Serratore said after a 4-3 loss on Friday at North Dakota, where the Falcons held a 3-2 lead with seven minutes to play.
“We had them down, right where we wanted them, and we didn’t get it done. There is nothing to feel good about. We are plenty good enough to lose close to anyone in the country. The bottom line is that we were in a heavyweight weight and we were ahead and lost a decision. We just didn’t finish. Teams either find a way to get it done or they find a way to let it get away. Plain and simple, we didn’t get it done.”
The Falcons also lost the lead and the game on Saturday, 3-2 to Michigan State. Air Force goalie Jason Torf left with the game tied and with five minutes to play after suffering a groin injury, and rookie Paul Moberg allowed the game winner on the only shot he faced, 54 seconds into overtime.
– Maybe for some teams, there are some moral victories – Both AIC and Bentley were swept at Michigan Tech and Michigan, respectively, but AIC led in both games and Bentley stayed with the Wolverines until late in each game. UConn played two close games at Bowling Green, bowing 2-1 on Friday and earning a back-and-forth 4-4 tie on Saturday.
– There is already some hot goaltending in the league – Niagara’s Cody Campbell and Rochester Institute of Technology’s Shane Madolora both posted shutouts on Saturday – against each other. Madolora made 32 saves and Campbell stopped all 30 shots he faced in a 0-0 tie. It’s the first scoreless tie in RIT’s 47 year history.
“Normally, you see a lot of 7-6 games this time of year,” said RIT coach Wayne Wilson after the game. “But both goalies played very well.”
