Atlantic Hockey Weekly Award Winners for Games Through November 1

Atlantic Hockey Players of the Week

Atlantic Hockey Goalie of the Week

Ben Meisner - American International

Freshman, Goaltender, Halifax, Nova Scotia

Recorded the first shutout of his career, making 30 stops to lead the Yellow Jackets to their first victory of the season, beating Holy Cross 3-0.

Atlantic Hockey Rookie of the Week

Atlantic Hockey Honor Roll

Atlantic Hockey Team Notes

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Air Force: AFA earned its first road win of the season with the 4-1 win on Sunday...AFA moved into first place in the league with six points by splitting the series with Cansius...AFA earned its first win over Canisius since the 2007-08 season...Lamoureux had three goals in the series and led the team with 13 shots...Freshman Kyle De Laurell scored his first career goal on Sunday and it was the game-winner...Matt Fairchild had two assists on Sunday...Scott Kozlak scored his first goal of the season on Sunday to seal the 4-1 win late in the third period...AFA was 3-10 on the power play while killing 9-of-10 Canisius power plays...AFA returns home to host Bentley in a two-game series, Nov. 6-7, at Cadet Ice Arena...AFA is 2-2 at home this season and swept RIT two weeks ago...AFA and Bentley have played 24 times and Air Force holds a 16-6-2 lead in the series...Last season, AFA beat Bentley, 3-0, in the AHA Semifinals en route to its third straight AHA championship...The teams played four times last season and AFA was 3-1 in those games...AFA swept Bentley last season at Air Force, 5-1 and 8-2.

American International: In three games this week the Yellow Jackets went 1-1-1, losing the Sacred Heart on Tuesday 5-3, beating Holy Cross 3-0 on Friday and then tying the Crusaders 4-4 on Saturday. In the loss to Sacred Heart, senior Mike McMillan (Sault Ste. Marie, Ont.) put the Yellow Jackets up 1-0 when he found the back of the net at the 14-minute mark of the second period, with an assist from sophomore Luciano Primiani (Montreal, Que.). The Pioneers scored two straight goals to take a 2-1 lead, before freshman Adam Pleskach (Beauejour, Man.), the raining AHA Rookie of the Week, who continues to play well tallied his fourth goal of the season, seven-minutes into the third period. Sacred Heart would not be down for long burying two goals in six-minutes to take a 4-2 advantage. Sophomore Nielsson Arcibal (Vista, Calif.) attempted to spark the comeback when he netted his first goal of the season, with an assist from Pleskach, but the Pioneers would tallied an empty net goal to claim the 5-3 win. Junior Dan Ramirez (Rochester, N.Y.) made a 41 save effort between the pipes for AIC. In the 3-0 victory over Holy Cross, senior Josh Froese (Winkler, Man.) put AIC out to a 1-0 lead when he buried his first goal of the season at 3:53 of the first period with assists from juniors Steve McLeod (Atikokan, Ont.) and Mike Little (Enfield, Conn.). Just over six-minutes later McMillan netted the season’s first short-handed goal, his second goal of the year, with assists from freshman Chris Markiewicz (Calgary, Alb.) and McLeod. Freshman Jeff Ceccacci (Placentia, Calif.) added an empty net goal from the Yellow Jackets own end of the ice, with less than a minute remaining in the third period. Froese dished out the assist on the goal after blocking a Crusader shot. Freshman Ben Meisner (Halifax, N.S.) made 30 saves to record his first career shutout. In the 4-4 tie at Holy Cross, after the Crusaders jumped out to a 2-0 lead, freshman Charles LaChance (Quebec City, Que.) buried the first goal of his collegiate career with assists from classmate Steve Mele (Bronx, N.Y.) and junior Greg Vatrano (East Longmeadow, Mass.). Pleskach tied the score at 2-2 when he tallied his team leading fifth goal of the season, six-minutes into the second period. With just over four-minutes remaining in the period, LaChance tallied his second goal of the night with assists from Little and Mele, putting the Yellow Jackets on top 3-2 heading into the third period. The Crusaders scored twice to take a 4-3 lead. Which would not last long, as junior Tom Mele (Bronx, N.Y.) netted a goal on the power-play for AIC, tying the score at 4-4. Ramirez made 42 saves on the night. Next up, the Yellow Jackets head to Storrs, Connecticut for a weekend series with UConn beginning on Friday at 7:05 p.m.

Army: The Black Knights beat RPI and tied Colgate during a weekend of non-conference games against squads from ECAC Hockey. Army beat RPI, 2-1, and played to a 4-4 draw with Colgate … Army scored two third-period goals to upset the Engineers and collect its first win against an ECAC team since the 2004-05 season, a 3-2 win against Colgate … Jay Clark made 39 saves, with double-digit stops in each period, to collect his first win of the season. Cody Omilusik had a goal and assist and Owen Meyer scored his first goal of the season, on the power play, for the game-winner. Marcel Alvarez and Eric Sefchik also registered assists in the win. It was Army’s third win ever in Troy, N.Y. … Army scored three third-period goals to tie Colgate 4-4. Army trailed 1-0, 2-1, 3-2 and 4-3 but fought back each time. Andy Starczewski, who was playing in front of more than 200 family and friends and 20 minutes from his hometown of Whitesboro, N.Y., had a goal and an assist for his first multiple-point game. Mike Santee scored the game-tying goal, his first, with less than three minutes to play in regulation. Alvarez and Bryant Skarda also scored goals. Joe Spracklen made 38 saves in his second start this season, including 15 in the second period … Mark Dube switched from forward to defense over the weekend and was even in plus/minus ratings … Jon Bobb made his collegiate debut, centering the fourth line both nights … Meyer now has 52 career goals and stands in 11th place among all-time AHA scorers … Army will return to conference play with a pair of games at RIT this weekend.

Bentley: Bentley spilt its two games with Mercyhurst at Ryan Skating Arena last weekend. The Falcons took the first game by a score of 4-2, but could not complete the sweep as the Lakers took the second game 6-2. In Friday’s game, four different players scored. Freshman Dan Koudys continued his hot start to the season with a goal and two assists in that game, including the go-ahead goal in the second period for his second straight game-winning goal. Freshman Joe Campanelli tacked on an insurance goal in the third period for his first career goal. Bentley’s power play also came alive, as the Falcons went 3-6. Junior Joe Calvi made 26 saves for his second straight win. The Lakers then salvaged the spilt in game two on Saturday. Senior Marc Menzione scored two goals in a physical game that saw 24 penalties called on both teams.

Canisius: Canisius split a weekend series with Air Force this weekend, winning the opener, 3-1, and falling in the finale, 4-1. The Griffs are now 1-3-0 in Atlantic Hockey play and 2-6-0 overall. In the opener, juniors Vincent Scarsella and Cory Conacher once again led the Canisius offense. Scarsella matched career highs with two goals and three points, while Conacher tallied the game-winning score and added an assist. Scarsella has now registered an assist on all four of Conacher’s goals this season, while Conacher has tallied an assist on 2-of-3 Scarsella goals. Scarsella’s first goal of the game came 54 seconds into the contest, giving Canisius the early 1-0 lead. The lone goal of the first period meant Canisius led after the opening frame for the first time this season. Canisius is 2-0-0 when tied or leading after one period this season but 0-6-0 when trailing after one. Sophomore goalie Dan Morrison also anchored the Canisius defense to victory. Morrison recorded 41 saves, while yielding just one goal. Morrison stopped at least 40 shots for the second time this season, both Canisius victories. He also recorded 48 saves during a 1-0 victory over Ferris State. Morrison, who also recorded 25 saves in the finale, has been especially strong in the third period of play this season. In the final frame, he owns a goals against average of 1.73 and a save percentage of .953. In the finale, Canisius surrendered two-first period goals and despite Dave Kostuch’s first score of the season, could not rally. In all six of their losses this season, the Griffs have allowed at least two first-period goals. Canisius, who has been outscored 13-3 in the first period, has allowed two more goals in the opening frame then in the second and third periods combined. Canisius continues conference play this weekend with a home-and-home series against Mercyhurst. The teams will meet in Erie on Friday before returning to the Buffalo State Sports Arena on Saturday. Last season, Mercyhurst won the season series, 2-1-1, with three of the games featuring an overtime.

Connecticut: The Huskies were 0-2-0 on the weekend dropping two conference games to RIT on the road. The Huskies battled to a 6-2 loss in the first game of the series falling 7-0 in game 2. Corey Jendras and Andrew Olson recorded the only goals of the weekend for the Huskies as Jim Gallagher, Alex Gerke and Jason Krispel all earned assists. Jeff Larson played all 120 minutes in goal for the Huskies finishing the weekend with a 6.50 GAA and a .831 save percentage.

Holy Cross: The Crusaders return to action when they play two games versus Sacred Heart on Friday and Saturday, Nov. 6-7. Holy Cross will travel to Milford, Conn. on Friday to play at the Milford Ice Pavilion, while on Saturday Holy Cross will play at home. Both games will start at 7:00 p.m. Last season, the series was tied at 2-2-0, as each team won one game at home and one game on the road. Junior Jordan Cyr leads the team with five assists and is tied for first with seven points. His two goals are tied for second. He contributed on all four of Holy Cross’ goals on Saturday versus AIC as he recorded one goal and three assists. Freshman Erik Vos scored one goal and had one assist for two points against AIC on Saturday. This is the second game this season that he has recorded one goal and one assist. Junior co-captain Everett Sheen posted one goal and two assists for three points versus the Yellow Jackets on Saturday. He leads the team with four goals and is tied for first with seven points, while he is second with three assists. With the 4-4 tie with AIC on Saturday, Holy Cross is now 23-16-5 all-time in home openers. Holy Cross is 2-3-0 so far this season on the road as it played its first five games away from home. Last season the Crusaders were 5-12-3 on their opponents’ home ice. The Crusaders will play three of the next four games at home as they are 0-0-1 at home so far this season. Last season Holy Cross went 7-8-2 at the Hart Center. Holy Cross has a 294-183-29 (.610) all-time record at the Hart Center since it started playing there in 1975-1976. On Saturday, freshman Brandon Nunn made his collegiate debut. Holy Cross will host the 2010 NCAA Men’s Hockey Division I Northeast Regional. The dates are Saturday and Sunday, March 27-28 at the DCU Center in Worcester. The semifinals will be at 1:30 p.m. and 5:00 p.m. on March. 27, while the finals will be at 5:30 p.m. on March 28. All three games will be on ESPNU. Holy Cross held the event for the first time two years ago.

Mercyhurst: The Mercyhurst College men’s hockey team split its two-game series at Bentley this past weekend in Waltham, Mass.…The Lakers dropped the first game by a score of 4-2 before scoring a season-high six goals in a 6-2 victory on Saturday…Junior Brandon Coccimiglio led the offense with two goals and two assists, giving him points in five-consecutive games and goals in three-consecutive games…Sophomore Patrick Goebel scored his first collegiate goal – the game-winner – in Saturday’s contest…Junior Ryan Zapolski combined for 51 saves and allowed two even-strength goals on the weekend. He stopped 28 shots on Friday and 23 on Saturday…Mercyhurst scored a season-best two power-play goals in the 6-2 decision…The Lakers have gone 2-1-1 in their last four games after starting the season 0-4-0…Mercyhurst hosts Canisius this weekend in its home opener at the Mercyhurst Ice Center…The Lakers are 33-19-6 all-time against the Griffins…Mercyhurst went 2-1-1 against Canisius last season, with three of the four contests going to overtime.

Rochester Institute of Technology: The Tigers earned their first two wins of the 2009-10 season, 6-2 and 7-0 over Connecticut in the first two games at Ritter Arena. Fifteen different Tigers recorded at least a point over the weekend. The 13 goals in a two-game series are the second most in one weekend by the Tigers at the Division I level, behind the 16 scored in wins over American International (8-3, 8-0), Oct. 20-21, 2006. RIT’s power-play is in peak form, after scoring six times in 16 chances over the weekend. The Tiger power-play is 8-for-23 (34.8 percent) in four conference games this season. Overall, RIT is tied for sixth nationally (25 percent). Senior defensemen Alan Mazur and Dan Ringwald recorded hat-tricks on back-to-back nights on Friday and Saturday. Mazur tallied a team-record three power-play goals on Friday, while Ringwald became the first Tiger at the Division I level to score three consecutive goals and three goals in one period (first). They are the first two Tiger defensemen to score hat-tricks, and fourth and fifth hat-tricks overall in five seasons of Division I play. Ringwald recorded six points in the two weekend games, and is now just three points shy of 100 for his career. He would become the first defenseman and second skater (Simon Lambert) to record 100 career points. Junior Andrew Favot leads the team with 10 points in seven games. Favot and Ringwald lead the team with right points each in just four AHA contests. Freshman defenseman Chris Tanev tallied three goals over the weekend. He leads the squad with a +6 plus/minus rating. Senior Jared DeMichiel and freshman Shane Madolora combined for RIT’s first shutout of the season, and first since Feb. 13, 2009 against Holy Cross. DeMichiel played the first 50 minutes, stopping 21 shots, while Madolora made six saves in the final 10 minutes. Sophomore Mark Cornacchia scored his first collegiate goal on Friday, while freshman Bryan Potts tallied his first goal on Saturday. The Tigers are back home this weekend, as they host Army on Friday, and Saturday, both at 7:05 p.m. RIT went 2-1-1 against the Black Knights last season, and lead the all-time series between the two schools, 3-2-3. RIT is 1-1-2 against Army at Ritter Arena. Last season, Army won 5-3 on No. 14, while the Tigers responded with a 6-3 victory the following night. In 2007-08, the two teams skated to 1-1 and 2-2 ties.

Sacred Heart: The Pioneers finished the week 1-1-1 after winning their conference opener with AIC and going 0-1-1 in a weekend series at St. Lawrence...The home team has won the last five meetings between the Pioneers and Yellow Jackets...Sacred Heart has played three overtime games in its first five games of 2009, posting a 1-1-1 record...Freshman Steven Legatto has not yet lost a game in his collegiate career with a 1-0-1 mark in his two starts.