FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Friday, January 30, 2015 Atlantic Hockey Weekend Preview There are a pair of top five match-ups this weekend in Atlantic Hockey action. No. 20 UPCOMING SCHEDULE Robert Morris will travel to Colorado take on Air Force, while Bentley makes the trek to Erie and face Mercyhurst. Canisius is the only team in the top five not playing this weekend. FRIDAY, JANUARY 30 #20 Robert Morris (17-5-4; 14-3-3 AHC) at Air Force (11-13-3; 10-6-2 AHC) NIAGARA AT HOLY CROSS, 7:05 ET at Cadet Ice Arena; USAFA, Colo. ARMY AT RIT, 7:05 ET No. 20 Robert Morris and Air Force will face-off against each other for the second time this BENTLEY AT MERCYHURST, 7:05 ET season. The Falcons took three points from the Colonials back on November 14-15 at 84 SACRED HEART AT AMERICAN INT’L, 7:05 ET Lumber Arena. Two of the hottest team in the AHC since the calendar changed, as Robert OBERT ORRIS AT IR ORCE Morris is 5-2-1 and winners of their last four, while Air Force is 6-1-1 and is currently riding #20 R M A F , 7:05 MT a six-game winning streak. Senior forward Cody Wydo leads the league in scoring and is among the top scorers in the nation with 16 goals and 34 points. Wydo, along with Zac SATURDAY, JANUARY 31 Lynch (12-16-28) and Scott Jacklin (11-12-23) comprise the second highest scoring line in NIAGARA AT HOLY CROSS, 7:05 ET the nation. Goaltenders Terry Shafer and Dalton Izyk have rotated in the net, each starting ARMY AT RIT, 7:05 ET one game in the series throughout the season and both have tremendous numbers. Shafer BENTLEY AT MERCYHURST, 7:05 ET has a 2.12 GAA and a .928 saves percentage with an 8-2-3 record. Izyk has a 2.65 GAA, a .925 saves percentage and a 9-3-0 record. Shafer is third in the league in both GAA and SACRED HEART AT AMERICAN INT’L, 7:05 ET saves percentage. AFA’s top line has combined for 81 points, this season, the fourth highest #20 ROBERT MORRIS AT AIR FORCE, 7:05 MT scoring line in the nation. Boston University’s line of Jack Eichel (13-23-36), Danny O’Regan (16-12-28) and Evan Rodriguez (9-19-28) are No. 1 with 92 points. Robert Morris’s Cody Wydo (16-18-34), Zac Lynch (12-16- 28) and Scott Jacklin (11-12-23) have scored 85. Michigan’s line of Zach Hyman (16-19-35), Dylan Larkin (9-20-29) and Alex Kile (11-9- 20) are third with 84. RIT’s line of Matt Garbowsky (17-15-32), Josh Mitchell (9-18-27) and Josh McGowan (7-14-21) have combined for 80 points to rank fifth.Air Force and Robert Morris have played 24 times and the Falcons lead the series, 13-10-1. Air Force won five straight from Feb. 25, 2012 through Nov. 16, 2003, and has won nine of the last 13. In the last four games, RMU has won two while AF has won one and one ended in a tie. The teams have played 11 times at the Academy and Air Force holds an 8-3 advantage. Air Force has won seven straight vs. RMU at the Academy. Earlier this season, Air Force took three points in the series in Pittsburgh, a 3-3 overtime tie in game one and a 2-1 AF win in overtime in game two. Bentley (11-11-3; 9-7-3 AHC) at Mercyhurst (12-8-4; 10-5-3 AHC) at Mercyhurst Ice Center; Erie, Pa. Two points separate Bentley and Mercyhurst in the standings for home ice in the Quarterfinals of the AHC Tournament. The Falocns have struggled since the calendar changed to 2015, posting a 2-3-1 record in January, while the Lakers are 4-3-2 in nine games in 2015. The two teams have already met this season with Bentley taking three points from Mercyhurst back on November 14-15 at the Ryan Skating Arena. Andrew Gladiuk leads the Falcons with 15 goals and 15 assists for 30 points while Max Franch is right behind with 14 goals and 13 as- sists for 27 points. In goal, it has been essentially a three-way split. Freshman Jayson Argue enters with the best numbers - 4-3-2 with a 1.75 goals against average and a .944 save percentage. Senior Blake Dougherty is 3-3-1 with a 2.49 goals against average and a .915 save percentage while junior Gabe Antoni is 4-5-0 with a 3.19 goals against average and a .903 save percentage. After going scoreless for the month of October, Daniel Bahntge has scored eleven goals and dished out twelve assists for 23 points in his last 19 games and now leads the team in scoring. He scored a pair of goals in the 3-3 tie at Canisius on November 22, which was his first multiple-goal game since scoring twice at Canisius on January 23, 2014 - a span of 26 games. He recently added a career-high five points in a 7-2 win over Sacred Heart on January 9. With his streak, Bahntge became the 19th member of the 100-point club in the Division I era at Mercyhurst. He also has yet to miss a game in his career - 146 consecutive games. Jack Riley had six goals and nine assists for 15 points, which included two four-point games against Army (2g, 2a) on December 6 and at home against Sacred Heart (1g, 3a) on January 9. Mercyhurst leads the all-time series against Bentley by a 29-12-8 margin. However, Mercyhurst went 0-1-1 at Bentley in mid-November, skating to a 4-4 overtime tie in game one of the series before suffering a heart-breaking 5-4 decision in overtime the next night. The Lakers are 14-3-5 against Bentley at the Mercyhurst Ice Center. Army (5-17-2; 5-13-2 AHC) at RIT (9-11-4; 8-6-4 AHC) at Poliseeni Center; Rochester, N.Y. Over the last three weekends RIT has collected nine out of a possible 12 points to jump into the sixth spot in the AHC standings. Army sits four points behind Sacred Heart for the final home ice spot in the First Round of the AHC Tournament. Freshman Tyler Pham leads the team in scoring with 21 points on eight goals and 13 assists. In goal, Parker Gahagen and Cole Bruns have split time this season. Gahagen is 4-10-1 with a 3.16 goals against average and .907 save percentage, while Bruns is 1-6-1 with a 3.54 goals against average and .885 save percentage. Matt Garbowsky leads the way for the Tigers with 32 points, which is just behind RMU’s Cody Wydo, who has 34 points on the year. He leads the conference with 17 goals with 16 coming in league play. With all the goals, he has scored only two power play goals, which is impressive. He is joined by Josh Mitchell and Brad McGowan as 20-point scorers. Mitchell has 27 points on nine goals and a team-best 18 helpers. McGowan has scored seven goals and added 14 assists for 21 points. League play has been good for Mitchell with 23 of his 27 points coming in Atlantic Hockey. He leads the team in power play goals with four on the year. In net, Jordan Ruby has been a steady netminder for the Tigers in his three-plus years. The senior has appeared in 56 games for RIT and has played over 3200 minutes. He has a 17-29-7 career mark, including a 5-5-4 record in 2014-15. Ruby is making his senior season count with a 2.16 goals against average and a .921 save percentage in 14 starts. He has an impressive 1.88 GAA in league play and a .931 save percentage in Atlantic Hockey action. The series is in favor of the home team with a 13-2-5 advantage over the Black Knights and the Tigers have won the last five meetings, going unbeaten in the last 13 matchups. Army last won back in 2008 at Ritter Arena by a 5-3 score. RIT swept the series last year in the final season at Ritter Arena with a 6-0 win on Friday night, followed by a 4-3 victory on Saturday. The teams have played five overtime games since the series began in 2006 and neither team has been able to net a game- winner in the extra frame. Niagara (3-19-2; 3-13-2 AHC) at Holy Cross (8-12-5; 7-7-5 AHC) at Hart Center; Worcester, Mass. For the second time this season, Niagara and Holy Cross will face one another. This time at the Hart Center. The Crusaders swept the first series with the Purple Eagles, earning 4-1 and 4-2 decisions at Dwyer Arena back on December 5-6. The freshman class’ 41 points hold the team-lead heading into this weekend’s series against Canisius. They are five points ahead the juniors, who have eight players compared to the freshmen’s seven. • Freshmen have combined for 19 goals and 22 assists. Robert Angiolella has taken the lead in that class with a team-high seven goals, four assists, and 11 points.