Three things from Atlantic Hockey action this past weekend:
Nothing decided
A quartet of western scheduling pod games this past weekend may be an indicator of things to come in Atlantic Hockey. Canisius, Mercyhurst, Rochester Institute of Technology and Robert Morris all went 1-1 in round robin play. The details:
- On Friday, Robert Morris defeated Canisius 6-1 for its first conference victory and first win overall this season. Junior forward Cody Wydo was again the story (more on him later) with his second hat-trick in as many games.
- Also on Friday, Mercyhurst edged Rochester Institute of Technology 3-2 for its second straight win. The Lakers erased a 2-1 deficit in the second period to defeat the Tigers on home ice for just the second time in 12 attempts dating back to when RIT joined the league in 2006.
- On Saturday, roles reversed. RIT earned its first win and first conference points with a 4-2 victory at Robeert Morris. The Tigers have now won two games in a row at 84 Lumber Arena after going winless in their first six attempts.
- And finally, Canisius defeated Mercyhurst 4-3 in a rematch of last season’s title game. The Golden Griffins unveiled their AHA Championship and NCAA Tournament banners prior to the contest.
Banners being unveiled prior to tonight’s game with Mercyhurst pic.twitter.com/qEGrkIARTQ
— Canisius Hockey (@GriffsHockey) November 10, 2013
Four teams, four wins, four losses. A closed loop with nothing decided.
Hard to ignore
Cody Wydo sailed under the radar his first two seasons at Robert Morris despite scoring 34 goals, including 21 last season.
Colonials’ coach Derek Schooley told me this before the start of this season: “…He’s ready to take the next step. He hasn’t gotten any Atlantic Hockey accolades. I think this might be the year you see Cody really break out and become a notable name in Atlantic Hockey.”
I had selected Wydo for my all-rookie team in 2012 and had him making the all-AHA third team last season, but he didn’t get the recognition that counted, shut out of the official league awards.
Wydo has been impossible to ignore so far this season, though. He has ten goals so far, including seven over a two game stretch. Wydo had four goals in a 5-4 loss to Penn State on Nov. 2, and followed that with a hat-trick in a 6-1 win over Canisius on Friday.
RIT was able to hold Wydo to a single assist on Saturday.
His 10 goals lead the league and place him second overall in Division I.
Not exactly a goaltender’s duel
Fifteen goals in one game. Ya gotta love college hockey.
American International spoiled Bentley’s first home game of the season with a wild 8-7 win on Friday.
Bentley had opened a 4-1 lead just seventeen minutes into the contest, but AIC scored the next five goals and never trailed after that. The Yellow Jackets were outshot 42-28, but went 3-4 on the power play.
AICs “Killer P’s” (I’m not sure if anyone actually calls them that, but they should): seniors Jon Puskar and Blake Peak and juniors Chris Porter and Jason Popek, combined for three goals and seven points overall. Junior forward Alexander MacMillan had a game-high five points for AIC.
Seven different players scored goals for Bentley, which lost a wild 4-3 overtime thriller to AIC in their final regular season contest last year.
MacMillan’s five point evening gives him seven points in four games so far this season, good for fifth nationally in points per game.
