Three things I learned from Atlantic Hockey this weekend:
Things can change in a New York (and Pennsylvania) minute.
First place Air Force was undefeated in league play and riding a seven game unbeaten streak heading into games at Rochester Institute of Technology and Mercyhurst. But the Falcons suffered a rare weekend sweep at the hands of the Tigers and Lakers. Air Force dropped a 3-1 decision at RIT on Friday and lost 3-2 at Merychurst on Saturday. In both cases, the Falcons fell behind and had a late rally fall short.
“Maybe we needed to eat a slice of humble pie,” Air Force coach Frank Serratore said after the game on Saturday. “Sometimes maybe we believe our own hype. We were picked to finish second and were receiving votes in the national polls. We can’t live off of last year’s success. It’s all part of journey. Now we’ll see where this team goes. But we aren’t there yet.”
Past performance is not an indicator of future results
I thought both Holy Cross and Canisius would get a non-conference win this weekend. The Crusaders had already beaten Boston University this season and seem to play well against Hockey East opponents so I thought Holy Cross had a real chance to beat Massachusetts. But the Minutemen won going away, 7-2.
I also thought Canisius, which had beaten a CCHA team each of the past three seasons, should pull out one of its pair of games at Bowling Green. Alas, the Golden Griffins came up short in both games, 4-1 and 3-1.
In a funk
Sacred Heart has had trouble scoring goals this season, and going into Saturday’s game at Holy Cross had lost its previous three games 2-1, 3-2 and 2-1. The good news is that the Pioneers scored four goals on Saturday, equal to what they scored in the previous three games. The bad news is they gave up six, so a late rally fell short.
Bonus picks:
On Friday I neglected to pick a pair of mid-week games, so here goes:
Tuesday, November 15
Canisius at Niagara – The Griffs knocked their Western New York rivals out of the playoffs last season, and I think the Purple Eagles will get some revenge. Niagara 4, Canisius 2.
Wednesday, November 16
Sacred Heart at Connecticut – The Pioneers are still looking for their first win, but I don’t think it happens here. UConn 4, Sacred Heart 1.
Getting my vote:
Here’s how I’ll vote in tomorrow’s USCHO.com Division I men’s poll:
1. Merrimack
2. Minnesota
3. Notre Dame
4. Boston College
5. Michigan
6. Colorado College
7. Western Michigan
8. Minnesota-Duluth
9. Ferris State
10. Lake Superior State
11. Yale
12. Union
13. Denver
14. Boston University
15. Michigan Tech
16. Ohio State
17. Miami
18. Wisconsin
19. Michigan State
20. Nebraska-Omaha
