Wild Friday
It will be tough to find a day on the Atlantic Hockey schedule this season that tops the drama of last Friday. Three games involving AHC teams went to overtime, and all three extra periods produced a winner.Each of those games were compelling in its own way.
Upsets?
American International stunned No. 11 Penn State in Happy Valley to earn a split with the Nittany Lions. The Yellow Jackets tied the game midway through the third period on a goal from senior Bryant Christian, and got the game-winner from rookie Darius Davidson at 3:47 of overtime.Zakarias Skog made 29 saves for the win, AIC’s first of the season.
Drama?
It’s hard to find a more dramatic situation than a game-winning goal scored in the last second of overtime. Niagara accomplished this against visiting Rensselaer on Friday.After losing a 3-0 lead thanks to three third-period goals by RPI, the Purple Eagles rallied for their second victory of the season when Sean King took a feed from Keegan Harper and netted the game-winner with one second to go.
Rivalries?
Holy Cross and Bentley had a barn-burner on Friday, a back-and-forth affair that wasn’t settled until Brett Mulcahy’s goal 52 seconds into overtime. The Crusaders outshot their rivals 46-20 in the contest, but Falcons goaltender Jayson Argue kept things even until the extra frame.The Crusaders completed the sweep with a 5-0 win on Saturday.
Serratores come out on top
There was a family reunion this past weekend when brothers Frank (Air Force) and Tom (Bemidji State) squared off for a series at the Sanford Center in Bemidji.
The Serratores are alumni of Bemidji State, and Tom’s son Matt plays for Frank at the Air Force Academy.As it turned out, all three came away with something.On Friday, the Beavers defeated the Falcons 4-1, limiting Air Force to 19 shots, including just three in the third period. A bright spot was Matt, who scored the opening goal (and lone goal) for the Falcons.
Matt Serratore repeated the feat on Saturday, but this time it was one of five Falcons goals as they turned the tables with a 5-1 win. Jordan Himley had a pair of goals for Air Force, and Falcons goaltender Billy Christopoulos made 29 saves.Air Force (4-1-1) begins conference play this weekend when it travels to Canisius.
Not to be overlooked
Not to be overlooked was a terrific series in Pittsburgh between host Robert Morris and Army West Point.The Colonials took Friday’s game, putting up 19 shots on goal in the first period that resulted in a 2-1 lead.
RMU opened a two-goal cushion early in the second period on a shorthanded goal by Brady Ferguson, the sixth of his career.
The Black Knights pulled to within one when Michael Wilson scored his second goal of the season, but RMU’s Luke Lynch scored later in the period and Colonials goaltender Francis Marotte turned away a whopping 21 shots in the third stanza for the win.Saturday was a different story. Wilson scored again for Army West Point, as well as Alex Wilkinson and Dominic Franco in a 3-1 Black Knights win.
Lynch again scored for RMU, but that was the lone goal for the Colonials thanks to 31 saves from AWP goalie Cole Bruns.
It’s a pity that these teams will not square off again this season, unless they meet in the Atlantic Hockey Tournament. They both made it to Rochester last season, so a late meeting certainly isn’t out of the question.
