Three things I learned from Atlantic Hockey this weekend:
1. Goals are hard to come by
Five of the bottom eight offenses in Division I belong to Atlantic Hockey teams. Other than the 6-5 contest between Rochester Institute of Technology and Holy Cross on Saturday, no AHA team scored more than three goals in a game last weekend. On Friday, there were a total of eight goals scored in three games. Saturday saw 22 goals scored by Atlantic Hockey teams in five games, but 11 of them were in that RIT-Holy Cross contest.
2. We’ll take the tie
As rough as the non-league play has been for Atlantic Hockey teams this season (7-38-7), Army tied Brown 1-1 on Friday and Canisius played No. 12 Lake Superior State to a 2-2 draw on Saturday. Connecticut was down by just a goal to No.9 Yale before an empty net goal sealed the win for the Bulldogs.
3. Not very special
When considering Sacred Heart’s 0-11 start to the season, here are some telling statistics. Special teams are killing the Pioneers. Scared Heart has the third-worst penalty kill in the nation, compounded by the Pioneers’ propensity to take penalties – they are 11th in Division I in PIMs per game (16.6). Connecticut was five-for-five on the power play in an 8-3 win against Sacred Heart last Wednesday.
And when it rains, it pours. The Pioneers are dead last in power play efficiency, scoring just three goals so far in 56 attempts (5.4%)
Getting my vote:
Here’s how I’ll vote in tomorrow’s USCHO.com Division I men’s poll:
1. Merrimack
2. Notre Dame
3. MInnesota
4. Colorado College
5. Boston College
6. Minnesota-Duluth
7. Yale
8. Ferris State
9. Michigan
10. Union
11. Western Michigan
12. Denver
13. Ohio State
14. Boston University
15. Lake Superior
16. Colgate
17. Michigan Tech
18. Cornell
19. Michigan State
20. Nebraska-Omaha
