On the final day of the Atlantic Hockey regular season, here’s what we know:
1. Mercyhurst, Bentley and Connecticut have sewn up three of the four first-round byes. Mercyhurst will be the top seed. Bentley can finish no lower than third; Connecticut no lower than fourth.
2. Robert Morris and Air Force are competing for the fourth and final bye. They’re tied with 31 points each, but RMU holds the tiebreaker, so Air Force must finish at least one point higher. That means if the Colonials defeat Mercyhurst, they will claim the prize. The loser in this matchup will be home next weekend in the first round against Army.
3. Niagara is locked into sixth place; Canisius will finish seventh. and Holy Cross eighth. All three will host playoff series next weekend.
4. Rochester Institute of Technology, American International and Sacred Heart are jockeying for positions nine through 11. RIT needs a point or a Sacred Heart loss or tie to finish eighth and travel to Holy Cross for the first round. Otherwise the Tigers make the short trip to Canisius. Sacred Heart can finish between ninth and 11th; AIC will end 10th or 11th. Army will be the No. 12 seed.
Check back for official first-round pairings once the dust has settled.
