Three Things from this past weekend in Atlantic Hockey:
Live by the comeback….
On October 25, Air Force staged a terrific comeback to earn a home-ice split with Rochester Institute of Technology. The Falcons scored an extra-attacker goal with 1:33 left in regulation to tie and got the game-winner at 3:50 of overtime.
But the roles reversed this past Saturday, with Air Force less than a minute away from upsetting No. 3 North Dakota at Engelstad Arena.
Trailing 2-1 in the closing seconds, North Dakota was able to even things up at 19:31 of the third, and then scored an improbable shorthanded game-winner with 6.4 seconds left in overtime.
Bryn Chyzk got the GWG off a feed from Michael Parks. Here’s the video.
It was a tough loss for Frank Serratore’s team, who was pressing for the win on the power play. The Falcons top unit has four forwards and only one defenseman.
“This one we will take to the grave,” Serratore said after the game. “This was the best effort we have had all season by a country mile. All I can say is, we have no regrets. Our kids gave all they had. We had our best guys out there and UND got it done. We put our best power-play unit out there at the end because we play to win. We could have put another defenseman out there, but we don’t play to tie. The Air Force Academy does not play to tie, we play to win. We put our best foot forward tonight, but this one stings.”
Streaks continue
A pair of streaks continued this past weekend, one good and one not so good.
Robert Morris stayed unbeaten (7-0-1) with a home sweep sweep of Rochester Institute of Technology, taking Friday’s game 6-3 and winning 4-2 on Saturday.
In the first game, RMU got goals from freshman (two by Spencer Dorowicz and one from Brady Ferguson) as well as the first career goal from senior David Rigatti, playing in his 86th game.
On Saturday, Ferguson scored again but most of the damage was done by the Colonials top line of Cody Wydo, Zac Lynch and Scott Jacklin.
Saturday’s win was the 150th career victory for RMU coach Derek Schooley, whose team is off this coming weekend.
“I almost want to keep playing and keep this rolling,” said Schooley after the game. “But we can rest some guys and work on some things. There’s always things to work on, even when you’re winning.”
On the other side of the coin, Niagara’s woes continue after being swept at home by American International, 3-1 and 4-2. The Purple Eagles remain winless (0-8).
Niagara Goaltender Jackson Teichroeb was able to make his first two starts after suffering an injury in a pre-season scrimmage, but it wasn’t enough to put his team into the win column. The Purps outshot the Yellow Jackets handily in each game (43-21 on Friday and 42-24 on Saturday) but AIC rookie goaltender Alex Murry stopped all but three shots he faced for the victories.
Win big
Mercyhurst split at No. 4 Colgate, defeating the Raiders 2-1 on Saturday after falling 4-0 the previous evening. Saturday’s win featured a 39-save performance from Laker goaltender Jimmy Sarjeant, and was touted by the school as the “Best D-I win in school history.”
I would have gone with the Lakers’ MAAC championship game victory in 2001 or 2003, as well as an Atlantic Hockey title win in 2005. But in terms of defeating a highly-ranked opponent, Saturday’s win gets the nod. Here’s the Mercyhurst video recap.
