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Atlantic Hockey

Re: Atlantic Hockey

Are we in for a great final week of games or what? The 5th coveted play-off ranking still up for grabs and a multitude of teams chasing that first round bye. It has been said many times parity in this conference is at an all-time high and viewing the last few weekend game results the up-coming play-offs are looking to be tremendously entertaining.

Canisius > 27 GP, 40 Pts
Air Force > 26 GP, 39 Pts
Army > 26 GP, 32 Pts

Robert Morris > 26 GP, 29 Pts
Holy Cross > 26 GP, 26 Pts
Mercyhurst > 26 GP, 26 Pts
Bentley > 26 GP, 25 Pts

RIT > 27 GP, 24 Pts
Sacred Heart > 26 GP, 21 Pts
American International > 26 GP, 18 Pts
Niagara > 26 GP, 8 Pts

Tough to predict who has the advantage for taking the final 5th spot, most teams are stepping up to the plate these final days rather than faltering down the stretch.

Robert Morris has to be the odds on favorite to finish 4th or fifth so I will pencil them in for one of the two remaining play-off berths, leaves Holy Cross, Bentley & Mercyhurst with the inside shot at the final play-off spot.

Holy Cross travels to Bentley to wrap up the season, Mercyhurst travels to play Canisius & home versus RIT. Too many scenarios to work out, RIT looks to be out of contention seeing no matter what scenario the Bentley & Holy Cross matchup ends with it eliminates any possibility of RIT to get the bye.

It is exciting to see teams playing some of their best hockey down the stretch, it garners a healthy respect for each other and sure makes for an exciting finish.
 
Re: Atlantic Hockey

Lay it on the line...........

If I am not mistaken the 2016 / 2017 regular season for Atlantic Hockey will come to end Sunday February 26th.

Remaining games:

Thursday, February 23, 2017
7:05 ET Army West Point @ American International
7:35 ET Mercyhurst @ Canisius


Friday, February 24, 2017
7:05 MT Sacred Heart @ Air Force
7:05 ET Holy Cross @ Bentley


Saturday, February 25, 2017
5:05 MT Sacred Heart @ (17) Air Force
7:05 ET American International @ Army West Point
7:05 ET Holy Cross @ Bentley
7:05 ET RIT @ Mercyhurst
7:05 ET Robert Morris @ Niagara


Sunday, February 26, 2017
7:05 ET Niagara vs. Robert Morris


Will be down to the wire, congratulations to every team on their seasons.
 
Re: Atlantic Hockey

LtPowers said:
Everything depends on how good the replacement goaltenders are for Air Force and RIT.


Powers &8^]
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Not to mention the replacement goaltenders for the two outstanding ones who graduated from Canisius and Army. I think Robert Morris will be the preseason coaches and poll pick. They came on strong at the end and have a solid team returning although losing a top scorer.
 
BC/HE said:
Not to mention the replacement goaltenders for the two outstanding ones who graduated from Canisius and Army.
Click to expand...

You're right; I forgot about Canisius and didn't think to check if Army's goaltender was graduating or not.


Powers &8^]
 
Re: Atlantic Hockey

What we do know is Sacred Heart has lost 10 players in total, accounting for 56 goals 79 assist and 135 points from their overall conference stats from which i reviewed from college stats. The subset of four (4) top players in that total of ten (10) (Forwards Justin Danforth, Jordan Minello, Even Jasper, defenseman Mitch Nylan)) amassed 41 goals with 61 assists. That overall total is more than double of any other team in Atlantic Hockey this season, so while recruits can come in and make an instant impact it is a large deficit to overcome. I have witnessed teams in the past have large numbers of players replaced and did extremely well, until recruits are known it is just some facts to take into account.

We also have four teams with large goal tending concerns to deal with in Air Force, Army, RIT and Canisius.

I have compiled a list of all Atlantic teams with offence lost, players lost and together with regular season standings and new recruits will be in position to make predictions. I do have a preliminary ranking for next season but a little too early to divulge.
 
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Blitz said:
What we do know is Sacred Heart has lost 10 players in total, accounting for 56 goals and 135 assists from their overall conference stats from which i reviewed from college stats. The subset of four (4) top players in that total of ten (10) (Forwards Justin Danforth, Jordan Minello, Even Jasper, defenseman Mitch Nylan)) amassed 41 goals with 61 assists. That overall total is more than double of any other team in Atlantic Hockey this season, so while recruits can come in and make an instant impact it is a large deficit to overcome. I have witnessed teams in the past have large numbers of players replaced and did extremely well, until recruits are known it is just some facts to take into account.

We also have four teams with large goal tending concerns to deal with in Air Force, Army, RIT and Canisius.

I have compiled a list of all Atlantic teams with offence lost, players lost and together with regular season standings and new recruits will be in position to make predictions. I do have a preliminary ranking for next season but a little too early to divulge.
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Good points about Sacred Heart, Blitz. I made similar comments in the Bentley season thread when the Falcons hosted Sacred Heart in the first round.

I think that you should volunteer to write a few sentences for the AHC schools as they come up in the new Greatest Programs thread when FightingSioux23 launches it (his earlier thread just closed out with 1000 posts as he updates his stats, and the AHC volunteer position was still up for grabs).
 
Re: Atlantic Hockey

Snively65 thanks for the kind words, seeing some past feedback from this site I think there are a multitude or astute gentlemen who would contribute much more by way of Atlantic Hockey. I tend to stay off of posting on this site, although from time to time passion overwhelms me and next thing I know I am in print (laughing out loud).

I take it your Atlantic team is Bentley by your post, you should let us know what your thoughts on next season. A big plus motivation wise should be the new facility, would love to get out there however at a 9 hour drive I have to time things out right. It is my wish to visit all Atlantic arena’s at some point, so keeping abreast of the building progress to figure out my travel plans!

I am likely completely off track here on Bentley but I see two (2) large items to address this coming season. Overall Bentley loses 5 players with 25 goals with 34 assists for a total of 59 points, not too excessive except for the fact of losing such a player in Mr. French with a whopping 38GP, 17G, 22 A for 39 points. That total from one player is doubly difficult to replace, with improving dividends from existing players, scoring by committee or recruits that number has to be chipped away at somehow. The second as important concern is the plus / minus across the team, will need to tighten that up to get on top of those single goal games throughout the season.

Cheers,
Blitz
 
Blitz said:
Snively65 thanks for the kind words, seeing some past feedback from this site I think there are a multitude or astute gentlemen who would contribute much more by way of Atlantic Hockey. I tend to stay off of posting on this site, although from time to time passion overwhelms me and next thing I know I am in print (laughing out loud).

I take it your Atlantic team is Bentley by your post, you should let us know what your thoughts on next season. A big plus motivation wise should be the new facility, would love to get out there however at a 9 hour drive I have to time things out right. It is my wish to visit all Atlantic arena’s at some point, so keeping abreast of the building progress to figure out my travel plans!

I am likely completely off track here on Bentley but I see two (2) large items to address this coming season. Overall Bentley loses 5 players with 25 goals with 34 assists for a total of 59 points, not too excessive except for the fact of losing such a player in Mr. French with a whopping 38GP, 17G, 22 A for 39 points. That total from one player is doubly difficult to replace, with improving dividends from existing players, scoring by committee or recruits that number has to be chipped away at somehow. The second as important concern is the plus / minus across the team, will need to tighten that up to get on top of those single goal games throughout the season.

Cheers,
Blitz
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Ok, Blitz, I will help out FS23 with his AHC entries.

Yes, you should hold off until second semester before driving East, so you can catch a Bentley game in the new on-campus arena. RIT fan Blazer777 really likes the pizza at the JAR, but most of us avoid it like the plague. :-)
 
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Re: Atlantic Hockey

I remember the days of minor hockey and travelling to each and every arena and putting together a mental list of each venue and their best food item. What a time we had over so many years, haha.

Has been very quiet on the recruitment signings, unfortunate that so many Atlantic Hockey teams don't do a very good job keeping or growing their fan base with more communication. A few lines on their website would go a long way to help promote things, not that it will bring in hordes of fans perhaps start by keeping the current ones engaged.
 
Re: Atlantic Hockey

I follow pretty much every Atlantic Hockey teams twitter feeds and I have to say that RMU has been doing the best job recently in hyping their recruits. Seems other teams have been tweeting about the success of their players in the pros and I suppose that's important too as a recruiting tool.
 
Re: Atlantic Hockey

Downstate_RIT_Fan said:
I follow pretty much every Atlantic Hockey teams twitter feeds and I have to say that RMU has been doing the best job recently in hyping their recruits. Seems other teams have been tweeting about the success of their players in the pros and I suppose that's important too as a recruiting tool.
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Bentley has never been big on social media in terms of hockey, however they have ramped up their efforts in this past year. That said, they never usually say anything about recruits until the fall or the end of summer at the earliest. Bentley seems to have a decent class coming in, highlighted by top-5 BCHL scorer Brett Mennear who should have an immediate impact upon arrival. I will be posting more about Bentley's recruit once a Bentley off-season thread is made.
 
Re: Atlantic Hockey

I'm fairly certain that RIT will be a strong contender as well. They return many top scorers and defencemen from last year's team. I think the returnees from last year will realize they underachieved last year and will look to rectify that.
 
Re: Atlantic Hockey

Hopefully we have some Robert Morris fans in the forum who I can bounce a question off.

When I see the seniors who have decided to move on to try their wares at the Pro level, I notice that Mr. Daniel Levens from Robert Morris with 49 points (14G, 35A, 49 pts) signed with Wheeling of the ECHL. My question is it seems strange that he didn't get the opportunity out of the box to head to the AHL seeing he is highly skilled and had the stats to back that up?

Mr. Max French from Bentley took the opportunity to head AHL, stat wise with 39 points (17G, 32A, 39 pts).
Mr. Justin Danforth from Sacred Heart took the opportunity to head AHL, stat wise with 32 points (10G, 22A, 32 pts).

Mr. Daniel Leavens from Robert Morris headed to the ECHL with 49 points (14G, 35A, 49 pts)

Just seemed very strange considering on paper he should have been given the opportunity. Anyone know the story, drop me a note if you wish to keep it on the hush as I am trying to figure things out on how to navigate the next tier.

I do understand points are not the only measure of a player, size comes into play (Mr. Leavens is the tallest of the three) as well as intangibles like potential or making other players around them better to name just a few. I do think Mr. Leavens was deserving enough and will progress further in time, just thought he is deserving of a different path considering.

We all have differing views on who is the best player and it is very subjective, to me it was Justin Danforth he really was a treat to watch even though statistics wise he was the lowest point overall of the three. Again we all have differing opinions, life would be boring if we didn't. I congratulate all the players mentioned, and all our best in representing Atlantic Hockey and helping pave the path for future prospects.
 
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Blitz said:
Hopefully we have some Robert Morris fans in the forum who I can bounce a question off.

When I see the seniors who have decided to move on to try their wares at the Pro level, I notice that Mr. Daniel Levens from Robert Morris with 49 points (14G, 35A, 49 pts) signed with Wheeling of the ECHL. My question is it seems strange that he didn't get the opportunity out of the box to head to the AHL seeing he is highly skilled and had the stats to back that up?

Mr. Max French from Bentley took the opportunity to head AHL, stat wise with 39 points (17G, 32A, 39 pts).
Mr. Justin Danforth from Sacred Heart took the opportunity to head AHL, stat wise with 32 points (10G, 22A, 32 pts).

Mr. Daniel Leavens from Robert Morris headed to the ECHL with 49 points (14G, 35A, 49 pts)

Just seemed very strange considering on paper he should have been given the opportunity. Anyone know the story, drop me a note if you wish to keep it on the hush as I am trying to figure things out on how to navigate the next tier.

I do understand points are not the only measure of a player, size comes into play (Mr. Leavens is the tallest of the three) as well as intangibles like potential or making other players around them better to name just a few. I do think Mr. Leavens was deserving enough and will progress further in time, just thought he is deserving of a different path considering.

We all have differing views on who is the best player and it is very subjective, to me it was Justin Danforth he really was a treat to watch even though statistics wise he was the lowest point overall of the three. Again we all have differing opinions, life would be boring if we didn't. I congratulate all the players mentioned, and all our best in representing Atlantic Hockey and helping pave the path for future prospects.
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I think Leavens might have benefitted from being on that incredibly talented top line at RMU (Brady Ferguson, Alex Tonge) which padded his stats a little bit. French had a similar situation last year with Andrew Gladiuk and Kyle Schmidt, where he put up 47 points in 32 games. I can only speak for French, but he didn't really find a solid line throughout the whole season and he drew a lot of attention from defenders (being one of the most accomplished and talented players coming into the year), which didn't help his stats. He also has a lot of intangibles, Max is an incredible leader and teammate and is truly one of the nicest human beings around. That said, French didn't see a minute of ice time in his stint with the Utica Comets this season, but they kept him on the roster on his ATO so who really knows what their plans for him are/were. Next season should be more telling as to how this years players turn out in the pros. I also know Max has had a few prestigious internships over the last couple of years and is a very good student, so I could see him skipping a pro career and joining the work force.
 
Re: Atlantic Hockey

acohen527 said:
I think Leavens might have benefitted from being on that incredibly talented top line at RMU (Brady Ferguson, Alex Tonge) which padded his stats a little bit. French had a similar situation last year with Andrew Gladiuk and Kyle Schmidt, where he put up 47 points in 32 games. I can only speak for French, but he didn't really find a solid line throughout the whole season and he drew a lot of attention from defenders (being one of the most accomplished and talented players coming into the year), which didn't help his stats. He also has a lot of intangibles, Max is an incredible leader and teammate and is truly one of the nicest human beings around. That said, French didn't see a minute of ice time in his stint with the Utica Comets this season, but they kept him on the roster on his ATO so who really knows what their plans for him are/were. Next season should be more telling as to how this years players turn out in the pros. I also know Max has had a few prestigious internships over the last couple of years and is a very good student, so I could see him skipping a pro career and joining the work force.
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A pro [hockey] career is not "joining the work force"? :) Yeah, I know what you mean. I think that you are spot on about French's top line this past season, which commonly included two freshmen. I did not mind this strategy, as having Schmidt, MacDonald, and Callin on the second line gave Bentley two lines that could score, which the team has missed for a few years now. Keep an eye open for FS23's Greatest Teams thread, which gets underway soon. I do not expect Bentley to climb out of their 59th ranking after a losing season, but I think that there is hope moving forward if the Falcons can get back to the tournament in Rochester.
 
Re: Atlantic Hockey

So now that the Holy Cross Women are officially joining Hockey East, how long before the "Holy Cross (men) to replace Notre Dame in HEA" talk resumes?
 
TigerFan86-87 said:
So now that the Holy Cross Women are officially joining Hockey East, how long before the "Holy Cross (men) to replace Notre Dame in HEA" talk resumes?
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Starts now. :)

If and when that happens you have to wonder what Atlantic Hockey will do? First UConn and then HC? Maybe it will force the ECAC to shed the Ivies and take all the Atlantic Hockey teams and have two eight team divisions.

Don't think the ECAC wants to lose the Ivies though.
 
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