After a wild quarterfinal round that saw seven of 11 games decided by a single goal, including four in overtime, the final four is set in Atlantic Hockey America: Holy Cross, Sacred Heart, Bentley and Army West Point.
Three of the four reaming teams have never won an Atlantic Hockey title.
Recapping the quarterfinals:
– The only series that didn’t go three games was between Bentley and Canisius, with the Falcons posting a pair of shutouts, 4-0 and 2-0. They were the ninth and tenth shutouts of the season for Bentley goalie Connor Hasley, tying him for third all-time in a Division I single season (Niagara’s Greg Gardner holds the record at 12 in 1999-2000).
– Holy Cross was taken to the limit by American International, with the Yellow Jackets fighting to extend their program by another week. Eric Lang’s team gave the top seed all it could handle, finally falling 4-3 in overtime on Sunday. The teams played three one-goal games culminating in Michael Abgrall’s goal 51 seconds into OT of Game 3.
– Sacred Heart bested Air Force in three games, with a wild two-overtime marathon won by the Falcons sandwiched between a pair of Pioneer victories. Air Force had advanced out of the first round with a double-overtime win as well. Saturday’s game was the longest in Air Force history at 93:27.
– Army West Point pulled off the only upset of the Quarterfinals, defeating host Niagara in three games. Both of the Black Nights’ wins came in overtime, with Mac Gadowsky getting the game-winner in double OT on Friday and Barron Woodring sending Army on to the semifinals with the game-winner on Sunday. Friday’s game was the fourth-longest in Army West Point history.
Previewing the semifinals
It’s no coincidence that the remaining semifinalists have the top four goalies in Atlantic Hockey: Army’s J.J. Cataldo, Bentley’s Connor Hasley, Holy Cross’ Thomas Gale, and Sacred Heart’s Ajeet Gundarah.
No. 5 Army West Point at No. 1 Holy Cross
The Black Knights will again look to extend the coaching career of coach Brian Riley, who is retiring after 21 seasons as head coach.
Army West Point last made it to the semifinals in 2021. The Black Knights advanced to the championship game once before, in 2007 when they lost to Air Force.
This is the third straight season that the Crusaders have made the semifinal round. Holy Cross’ last title was in 2006, when the Crusaders went on to a historic upset of Minnesota in the NCAA tournament.
Holy Cross took two of the three meetings between the schools in the regular season.
No. 3 Bentley at No. 2 Sacred Heart
This is the fifth postseason meeting between the schools and the first since 2017. It’s Sacred Heart’s third straight appearance in the semifinals and Bentley’s first since 2009. Bentley has reached the conference final once before, in 2006 when it lost to Holy Cross.
Bentley’s 20 wins this season is the most in the school’s Division I era and ties for the most victories in program history.
Sacred Heart’s 21 wins ties for the most in program history. Like Bentley, the Pioneers have never won an Atlantic Hockey title, coming close in 2010 when they lost to RIT in the championship game.
The teams battled three times in the regular season, with Bentley winning two of them.
The Rubies
My buddy Dan Rubin and I used to split Atlantic Hockey columnist duties, and Dan would jokingly refer to our picks for end of season awards as “The Lerchies” (update: he’s still doing it in his ECAC Column).
Therefore, I present to you, the “Rubies”. Here’s our choices for all-league. Our picks for the all-rookie team were posted last week.
Atlantic Hockey First Team
F Ethan Leyh, Gr., Bentley
F Liam McLinskey, Sr., Holy Cross
F Matthew Wilde, So., RIT
D Nick Bochen, Gr., Bentley
D Mac Gadowsky, So., Army West Point
G Ajeet Gundarah, Fr., Sacred Heart
Atlantic Hockey Second Team
F Trevor Hoskin, Fr., Niagara
F Jack Stockfish, So., Holy Cross
F Felix Trudeau, Jr., Sacred Heart
D Mikey Adamson, Jr., Sacred Heart
D Chris Hedden, Jr., Air Force
G Connor Hasley, Jr., Bentley
Atlantic Hockey Third Team
F Jay Ahearn, Sr., Niagara
F Tyler Fukakusa, So., RIT
F Matteo Giampa, So., Canisius
D Mack Oliphant, Jr., Holy Cross
D Michael Craig, So., Robert Morris
G Thomas Gale, Sr., Holy Cross
Check back for our individual awards next week.
