Three things from Atlantic Hockey play this weekend:
– Army is going to have a better season than last year. The Black Knights have two conference wins this season after getting just three in all of 2011-2012. They lost to Penn State 5-0 at home on Friday but came back with a 7-2 win at Holy Cross that was big for several reasons:
- The seven goals were the most scored by Army since November 28, 2009. The Black Knights had only one game last season there they scored four times.
- Army’s other points came against struggling Sacred Heart, but Holy Cross is considered to be in the top echelon of the the league and had beaten Connecticut 2-1 the night before.
- It was coach Brian Riley’s 100th career win.
– Sometimes you have to settle. Niagara trailed 3-0 at Clarkson on Saturday but managed a 4-4 tie to go with its 2-0 win against the Golden Knights on Friday. The Purple Eagles came all the way back to take the lead at one point, 4-3, but settled for the tie. Connecticut also “settled” for a 2-2 tie with No. 8 Union behind an impressive 39-save performance from Garrett Bartus. The Huskies also led in the third period.
– Penn State is up and Clarkson is down against the AHA. The Golden Knights are 0-2-1 against Atlantic Hockey competition so far. They travel to Canisius for a pair this weekend. The Griffins are coming off a 1-0 loss to No. 2 Minnesota on Sunday. Tony Capobianco allowed a Gopher goal just 12 seconds into the contest but was rock-solid after that, making 41 saves. On the other hand, Penn State would be in first place in the AHA right now, already 4-1 against the league including wins over Army and AIC this weekend. The Nittany Lions have upcoming series against Air Force, Holy Cross and Connecticut and a single game with Robert Morris.
