Two sweeps, three splits and the fourth straight Saturday night tie for Rochester Institute of Techology leave much to decided going into the final three weekends of the season.
The first-place Tigers and Air Force Falons played a wild series in Rochester, with RIT winning 1-0 in overtime on Friday. It was the first time in the 49 year history of the program that the Tigers had played to a 0-0 draw through 60 minutes on home ice. Saturday was quite the opposite, with Air Force storming back from a 4-0 deficit to earn a 5-5 tie.
Holy Cross picked up its second straight weekend sweep to take control in the AHA’s Eastern Pod. The Crusaders outshot American Intenational 42-19 en route to a 5-2 win on Friday, and then got five points from Kyle Fletcher to win 8-4 on home ice on Saturday.
The other sweep belonged to Mercyhurst, which dealt a severe blow to Niagara’s chances to win the regular season title. The Lakers won a wild 8-5 game on Friday and then got a 43 save performance from Ryan Zapolski on Saturday in a 4-0 win. Zapolski made a total of 86 saves in the two games.
Robert Morris and Canisius won on home ice to each pick up two points. On Thursday Cory Conacher got a hat-trick to move him into the all-time points lead at Canisius, leading the Griffs to a 5-4 win. On Saturday, RMU goalie Brooks Ostergard stopped 48 of 49 shots in a 4-1 victory.
Sacred Heart and Bentley won on each other’s home ice, with the Pioneers scoring the last five goals of the contest in a 6-3 win on Friday, for their first road win over the season The Falcons retured the favor on Saturday, scoring the final four goals of the game, including the game winner in overtime, in a 5-4 victory.
Finally, Army and Connecticut also won the road portion of their series, with the Huskies opening up a 2-0 first period lead en route to a 4-2 win at Tate Rink on Friday. Saturday’s game had to be moved from Freitas Ice Forum on the campus of UConn to the Hartford Civic Center because of concerns over the ice buildup on the roof of Freitas. The Black Knights skated off with a 5-3 win after a wild third period that saw seven goals scored, including four shorthanded tallies.
How’d I do?
I went 5-5-1 to move to 85-52-21 on the season. Guest analyst Matt Garver was 3-7-1, so I go to 8-5-1 straight up against my opposition.
With three weekends left in the regular season, I have two slots open for guest picks. Drop me a line if you’re interested.
