2018 Atlantic Hockey Tournament

The 2018 Atlantic Hockey Tournament is the 14th Atlantic Hockey Tournament. It was played between March 2 and March 17, 2018 at home campus locations and at the Blue Cross Arena in Rochester, New York. It was the last tournament at Blue Cross Arena before the tournament moved to HarborCenter in Buffalo, New York. By winning the tournament, Air Force earned Atlantic Hockey's automatic bid to the 2018 NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament.

2018 Atlantic Hockey Men's Ice Hockey Tournament
Dates	March 2–17, 2018
Teams	11
Finals site	Blue Cross Arena Rochester, New York
Champions	Air Force (7th title)
Winning coach	Frank Serratore (7th title)
MVP	Billy Christopoulos (Air Force)
Atlantic Hockey Men's Ice Hockey Tournaments ← 2017 2019 →

Format

The tournament features four rounds of play. In the first round the sixth and eleventh, seventh and tenth, and eighth and ninth seeds, as determined by the conference regular-season standings, will play a best-of-three series with the winners advancing to the quarterfinals. The top five teams from the conference regular-season standings receive a bye to the quarterfinals. There, the first seed and lowest-ranked first-round winner, the second seed and second-highest-ranked first-round winner, the third seed and highest-ranked first-round winner, and the fourth seed and the fifth seed will play a best-of-three series, with the winners advancing to the semifinals. In the semifinals, the highest and lowest seeds and second-highest and second-lowest remaining seeds will play a single game each, with the winners advancing to the championship game. The tournament champion will receive an automatic bid to the 2018 NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament.

Standings

Note: GP = Games Played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; PTS = Points; GF = Goals For; GA = Goals Against

2017–18 Atlantic Hockey men's standings
	Conference record								Overall record
	GP	W	L	T	PTS	GF	GA		GP	W	L	T	GF	GA
Mercyhurst	28	16	8	4	36	90	81		37	21	12	4	124	111
Canisius	28	17	11	0	34	94	76		38	19	17	2	117	108
Holy Cross	28	12	10	6	30	80	70		36	13	16	7	97	100
Army	28	12	10	6	30	80	70		36	15	15	6	93	91
#14 Air Force *	28	13	11	4	30	73	64		43	23	15	5	115	94
RIT	28	13	14	1	27	91	90		37	15	20	2	114	127
Robert Morris	28	12	13	3	27	79	78		41	18	20	3	119	118
American International	28	11	13	4	26	63	75		39	15	20	4	88	116
Niagara	28	10	15	3	23	76	90		36	11	22	3	93	123
Bentley	28	9	14	5	23	72	87		37	13	18	6	96	114
Sacred Heart	28	9	15	4	22	79	96		39	13	22	4	107	135
Championship: March 17, 2018 indicates conference regular season champion * indicates conference tournament champion (Riley Trophy) Rankings: USCHO.com Top 20 Poll; updated March 5, 2018

Bracket

	First round March 2–4							Quarterfinals March 9–11							Semifinals March 16					Championship March 17
								1	Mercyhurst	4	3*	—			1	Mercyhurst	4
	6	RIT	5*	3	0			11	Sacred Heart	2	2	—			7	Robert Morris	5*
	11	Sacred Heart	4	4***	2
								2	Canisius	8	1	3
	7	Robert Morris	3	3	3			8	American International	1	2*	0								7	Robert Morris	1
	10	Bentley	1	4	2															5	Air Force	5
								3	Holy Cross	1	1	—
	8	American International	4	4**	—			7	Robert Morris	4	5	—
	9	Niagara	1	3	—
								4	Army	3	1	0			2	Canisius	0
								5	Air Force	5	0	1*			5	Air Force	3

Note: * denotes overtime period(s)

Results

(6) RIT vs. (11) Sacred Heart

March 2[1]	RIT		5 – 4	OT	Sacred Heart	Gene Polisseni Center	Recap
(Powell, Valenzuela) Adam Brubacher – PP – 01:13 (Norrish, Brown) Gabe Valenzuela – PP – 09:11 (Dupuis, Powell) Adam Brubacher – 13:00		First period			No scoring
(Norrish, Powell) Dan Willett – 07:36		Second period			02:47 – Stephen Hladin (Kennedy, Rakhmatov) 04:38 – Matt Tugnutt (Kennedy, Bavaro) 10:55 – Marc Johnstone (McIlmurray, Crocock)
No scoring		Third period			15:53 – Mike Crocock (Hladin, Cotton)
(Brown, Valenzuela) Abbott Girduckis – GW – 00:23		First overtime period			No scoring
( 24 saves / 28 shots ) Logan Drackett		Goalie stats			Brett Magnus ( 28 saves / 33 shots )

March 3[2]	RIT		3 – 4	3OT	Sacred Heart	Gene Polisseni Center	Recap
(Hamacher, Norrish) Myles Powell – 07:04 (Norrish, Brubacher) Myles Powell – PP – 15:06		First period			08:12 – Jackson Barliant (Cotton, Hladin) 15:38 – Marc Johnstone (Tsekos, McIlmurray)
No scoring		Second period			No scoring
(Valenzuela, Girduckis) Erik Brown – 04:29		Third period			18:54 – Austin McIlmurray (Tugnutt, Tsekos)
No scoring		Third overtime period			02:19 – GW – Jackson Barliant (Hladin)
( 28 saves / 32 shots ) Logan Drackett		Goalie stats			Brett Magnus ( 46 saves / 49 shots )

March 4[3]	RIT		0 – 2		Sacred Heart	Gene Polisseni Center	Recap
No scoring		First period			12:06 – GW – Mike Crocock (Tsekos, Johnstone) 19:26 – PP – Austin McIlmurray (Allan, Tsekos)
No scoring		Second period			No scoring
No scoring		Third period			No scoring
( 23 saves / 25 shots ) Logan Drackett		Goalie stats			Brett Magnus ( 32 saves / 32 shots )

Sacred Heart won series 2–1

(7) Robert Morris vs. (10) Bentley

March 2[4]	Robert Morris		3 – 1		Bentley	84 Lumber Arena	Recap
No scoring		First period			No scoring
(Moore, Ferguson) Alex Tonge – 13:10		Second period			No scoring
(Moore, Dorowicz) Brandon Watt – GW PP – 19:04 (Ferguson) Alex Tonge – EN – 19:56		Third period			19:50 – Kyle Schmidt (Jago, Santerno)
( 37 saves / 38 shots ) Francis Marotte		Goalie stats			Aidan Pelino ( 31 saves / 33 shots )

March 3[5]	Robert Morris		3 – 4		Bentley	84 Lumber Arena	Recap
(Tonge, Moore) Luke Lynch – PP – 01:57		First period			09:58 – Charlie Marchand (Zuffante, DePourcq) 19:34 – Jonathan Desbiens (unassisted)
(Lynch, Graham) Daniel Mantenuto – 10:27 (Lynch) Matthew Graham – 13:56		Second period			No scoring
No scoring		Third period			01:00 – PP – Luke Santerno (Solovyev, Jago) 02:23 – GW PP – Kyle Schmidt (Santerno, Jago)
( 30 saves / 34 shots ) Francis Marotte		Goalie stats			Aidan Pelino ( 29 saves / 32 shots )

March 4[6]	Robert Morris		3 – 2		Bentley	84 Lumber Arena	Recap
(Watt, Dorowicz) Michael Louria – 13:46 (Lynch, Bontje) Alex Tonge – SH – 17:55		First period			18:40 – PP – Kyle Schmidt (Desbiens, Jago)
(Watt) Daniel Mantenuto – GW – 15:18		Second period			10:57 – PP – Charlie Marchand (Desbiens, Jago)
No scoring		Third period			No scoring
( 31 saves / 33 shots ) Francis Marotte		Goalie stats			Aidan Pelino ( 25 saves / 28 shots )

Robert Morris won series 2–1

(8) American International vs. (9) Niagara

March 2[7]	American International		4 – 1		Niagara	MassMutual Center	Recap
(Polin, Christensen) Darius Davidson – 07:16		First period			No scoring
(Christensen, Jaks) Hugo Reinhardt – GW PP – 12:07		Second period			No scoring
(Jaks, Kapcheck) Hugo Reinhardt – PP – 07:36 (Mellberg, Dudley) Brennan Kapcheck – EN – 17:57		Third period			14:13 – Noah Delmas (unassisted)
( 35 saves / 35 shots ) Stefano Durante		Goalie stats			Brian Wilson ( 18 saves / 21 shots )

March 3[8]	American International		4 – 3	2OT	Niagara	MassMutual Center	Recap
(Debrincat, Reinhardt) Darius Davidson – 19:19		First period			No scoring
(Jaks, Kocur) Shawn McBride – PP – 18:20		Second period			No scoring
(Reinhardt, Christensen) Jared Pike – PP – 11:18		Third period			04:45 – PP – Kris Spriggs (Delmas) 06:01 – Kris Spriggs (Kendall) 14:21 – Derian Plouffe (Cooley)
(Reinhardt, Kapcheck) Blake Christensen – GW PP – 08:02		Second overtime period			No scoring
( 31 saves / 34 shots ) Stefano Durante		Goalie stats			Brian Wilson ( 33 saves / 37 shots )

American International won series 2–0

(1) Mercyhurst vs. (11) Sacred Heart

March 9[9]	Mercyhurst		4 – 2		Sacred Heart	Mercyhurst Ice Center	Recap
(Enns, Duszak) Jonathan Charbonneau – 09:49		First period			02:35 – PP – Marc Johnstone (Bavaro, Allan)
(Duszak, Best) Jonathan Charbonneau – PP – 05:02 (Lancaster, Wildung) Jonathan Charbonneau – GW – 16:48		Second period			02:35 – Marc Johnstone (Bavaro, Allan)
(Elliot, Baker) Michael Verboom – 04:27		Third period			06:53 – PP – Zach Tsekos (Rakhmatov, Bavaro)
( 27 saves / 29 shots ) Brandon Wildung		Goalie stats			Brett Magnus ( 26 saves / 30 shots )

March 10[10]	Mercyhurst		3 – 2	OT	Sacred Heart	Mercyhurst Ice Center	Recap
No scoring		First period			05:49 – PP – Austin McIlmurray (Tsekos, Allan)
(Duszak, Charbonneau) Tommaso Bucci – 05:38 (Duszak, Lammon) Jonathan Charbonneau – 06:22		Second period			02:42 – Stephen Hladin (Barliant, Cotton)
No scoring		Third period			No scoring
(Duszak, Piacentini) Jonathan Charbonneau – GW PP – 09:39		First overtime period			No scoring
( 35 saves / 37 shots ) Brandon Wildung		Goalie stats			Brett Magnus ( 43 saves / 46 shots )

Mercyhurst won series 2–0

(2) Canisius vs. (8) American International

March 9[11]	Canisius		8 – 1		American International	HarborCenter	Recap
(Hutchison, Edmondson) Matt McLeod – 08:02 (Hoover, Meyer) Félix Chamberland – GW – 12:05 (Schmelzer, Jaeckle) Dylan McLaughlin – 16:51		First period			No scoring
(Murray) Dylan McLaughlin – 00:27 (Meyer, Chamberland) Matt Hoover – PP – 13:12		Second period			05:41 – Blake Christensen (Debrincat, Luka)
(Hutchison, McLaughlin) Jimmy Mazza – PP – 00:24 (Hutchison, Long) Matt McLeod – SH – 11:39 (Stander, Meyer) Matt Hoover – 13:53		Third period			No scoring
( 34 saves / 35 shots ) Daniel Urbani		Goalie stats			Stefano Durante ( 10 saves / 15 shots ) / Zackarias Skog ( 7 saves / 10 shots )

March 10[12]	Canisius		1 – 2	OT	American International	HarborCenter	Recap
No scoring		First period			04:52 – PP – Jānis Jaks (Kapcheck, Pike)
No scoring		Second period			No scoring
(Meyer, Mazza) Cameron Heath – 02:36		Third period			No scoring
No scoring		First overtime period			02:42 – GW – Shawn McBride (Demel, Pike)
( 44 saves / 46 shots ) Daniel Urbani		Goalie stats			Stefano Durante ( 23 saves / 24 shots )

March 11[13]	Canisius		3 – 0		American International	HarborCenter	Recap
(Stander, Hutchison) Jesse Pereira – GW – 07:37		First period			No scoring
(Stief, Heath) Matt Hoover – PP – 07:01		Second period			No scoring
(McLaughlin) Jeff Murray – 07:31		Third period			No scoring
( 26 saves / 26 shots ) Daniel Urbani		Goalie stats			Stefano Durante ( 17 saves / 20 shots )

Canisius won series 2–1

(3) Holy Cross vs. (7) Robert Morris

March 9[14]	Holy Cross		1 – 4		Robert Morris	Hart Recreation Center	Recap
No scoring		First period			00:25 – Matthew Graham (Lynch, Mantenuto)
(Trapp, Pooley) T. J. Moore – PP – 00:50		Second period			06:35 – GW PP – Brady Ferguson (Lynch, Israel) 16:25 – Nick Prkusic (Ghantous, Israel)
No scoring		Third period			19:56 – EN – Alex Tonge (Moore)
( 40 saves / 43 shots ) Paul Berrafato		Goalie stats			Francis Marotte ( 39 saves / 40 shots )

March 10[15]	Holy Cross		1 – 5	OT	Robert Morris	Hart Recreation Center	Recap
No scoring		First period			07:08 – PP – Matthew Graham (Lynch, Mantenuto)
No scoring		Second period			04:57 – GW – Timmy Moore (Kapcheck, Pike) 19:46 – PP – Timmy Moore (Lynch, Ferguson)
(Lopez, Coughlin) T. J. Moore – 00:30		Third period			07:10 – PP – Luke Lynch (Ferguson, Tonge) 17:15 – EN – Luke Lynch (unassisted)
( 25 saves / 29 shots ) Paul Berrafato		Goalie stats			Francis Marotte ( 37 saves / 38 shots )

Robert Morris won series 2–0

(4) Army vs. (5) Air Force

March 9[16]	Army		3 – 5		Air Force	Tate Rink	Recap
(MacAfee, Zimmerman) Dominic Franco – PP – 13:06		First period			11:02 – PP – Evan Giesler (Mirageas, Koch)
(Andrle, Box) Michael Wilson – 08:04		Second period			10:21 – Jordan Himley (Bailey, Boje) 13:29 – Kyle Haak (Mirageas, Kucera)
(unassisted) Brendan Soucie – 07:32		Third period			04:29 – GW – Marshall Bowery (Tomlak) 19:32 – EN – Erik Baskin (Ledford)
( 20 saves / 24 shots ) Cole Bruns		Goalie stats			Billy Christopoulos ( 17 saves / 20 shots )

March 10[17]	Army		1 – 0		Air Force	Tate Rink	Recap
(Franco, Pham) Zach Evancho – GW PP – 08:29		First period			No scoring
No scoring		Second period			No scoring
No scoring		Third period			No scoring
( 33 saves / 33 shots ) Cole Bruns		Goalie stats			Billy Christopoulos ( 17 saves / 18 shots )

March 11[18]	Army		3 – 0	OT	Air Force	Tate Rink	Recap
No scoring		First period			No scoring
No scoring		Second period			No scoring
No scoring		Third period			No scoring
No scoring		First overtime period			06:38 – GW – Tyler Ledford (Baskin)
( 39 saves / 40 shots ) Cole Bruns		Goalie stats			Billy Christopoulos ( 15 saves / 15 shots )

Air Force won series 2–1

(1) Mercyhurst vs. (7) Robert Morris

March 16[19]	Mercyhurst		4 – 5	OT	Robert Morris	Blue Cross Arena	Recap
(Barach, Lancaster) Kane Elliot – 19:09		First period			No scoring
No scoring		Second period			04:44 – PP – Brady Ferguson (Israel) 09:03 – Brady Ferguson (Louria, Giles)
(Duszak) Taylor Best – 08:01 (Enns) Derek Barach – 12:08 (Lancaster, Baker) Joseph Duszak – 13:18		Third period			14:31 – Daniel Mantenuto (Graham, Powers) 19:15 – PP – Brady Ferguson (Louria, Lynch)
No scoring		First overtime period			06:42 – Michael Louria (Tonge)
( 37 saves / 42 shots ) Brandon Wildung		Goalie stats			Francis Marotte ( 41 saves / 45 shots )

(2) Canisius vs. (5) Air Force

March 16[20]	Canisius		0 – 3		Air Force	Blue Cross Arena	Recap
No scoring		First period			No scoring
No scoring		Second period			06:12 – GW PP – Kyle Haak (Mirageas, Himley) 16:13 – Erik Baskin (Levin, Ledford)
No scoring		Third period			05:51 – Matt Serratore (Mirageas, Haak)
( 34 saves / 37 shots ) Daniel Urbani		Goalie stats			Billy Christopoulos ( 24 saves / 24 shots )

(5) Air Force vs. (7) Robert Morris

March 17[21]	Air Force		5 – 1		Robert Morris	Blue Cross Arena	Recap
(Himley, Serratore) Kyle Haak – 02:06 (Tomlak, Sommer) Jonathan Kopacka – GW – 02:56 (Boje) Jordan Himley – PP – 15:34		First period			No scoring
(unassisted) Evan Giesler – 05:07		Second period			15:52 – PP – Nick Prkusic (unassisted)
(Boje, Abood) Kyle Haak – EN – 14:00		Third period			No scoring
( 35 saves / 36 shots ) Billy Christopoulos		Goalie stats			Francis Marotte ( 13 saves / 17 shots ) / Andrew Pikul ( 14 saves / 14 shots )

Tournament awards

All-Tournament Team

• G Billy Christopoulos* (Air Force)
• D Zachary Mirageas (Air Force)
• D Jonathan Kopacka (Air Force)
• F Kyle Haak (Air Force)
• F Jordan Himley (Air Force)
• F Brady Ferguson (Robert Morris)

* Most Valuable Player(s)

[22]

References

1. "RIT 5, Sacred Heart 4". USCHO.com. 2018-03-02. Retrieved 2018-04-24.
2. "Sacred Heart 4, RIT 3". USCHO.com. 2018-03-03. Retrieved 2018-04-24.
3. "Surviving triple OT in game two, 11-seed Sacred Heart advances past RIT to AHC quarterfinals". USCHO.com. 2018-03-04. Retrieved 2018-04-24.
4. "Colonials snap streak, beat Bentley". USCHO.com. 2018-03-02. Retrieved 2018-04-25.
5. "AHC: Bentley storms back to force Game 3 vs Robert Morris, 4-3". USCHO.com. 2018-03-03. Retrieved 2018-04-25.
6. "Mantenuto breaks deadlock at Robert Morris heads to AHC quarters with 3-2 win". USCHO.com. 2018-03-04. Retrieved 2018-04-25.
7. "AIC 4, Niagara 1". USCHO.com. 2018-03-02. Retrieved 2018-04-25.
8. "American International 4, Niagara 3 2/OT". 2018-03-03. Retrieved 2018-04-25.
9. "Mercyhurst 4, Sacred Heart 2". USCHO.com. 2018-03-09. Retrieved 2018-04-25.
10. "Mercyhurst 3, Sacred Heart 2 (OT)". USCHO.com. 2018-03-10. Retrieved 2018-04-25.
11. "Rested Canisius rolls past American International". USCHO.com. 2018-03-10. Retrieved 2018-04-25.
12. "McBride's goal in OT lifts American International over Canisius, 2-1, to force game three". USCHO.com. 2018-03-10. Retrieved 2018-04-25.
13. "Canisius 3, American International 0". USCHO.com. 2018-03-11. Retrieved 2018-04-25.
14. "Robert Morris 4, Holy Cross 1". USCHO.com. 2018-03-10. Retrieved 2018-04-25.
15. "Robert Morris 5, Holy Cross 1". USCHO.com. 2018-03-10. Retrieved 2018-04-25.
16. "Air Force 5, Army West Point 3". USCHO.com. 2018-03-09. Retrieved 2018-04-25.
17. "Army West Point 1, Air Force 0". USCHO.com. 2018-03-10. Retrieved 2018-04-25.
18. "Air Force 1, Army West Point 0 (OT)". USCHO.com. 2018-03-11. Retrieved 2018-04-25.
19. "Robert Morris outlasts Mercyhurst 5-4 in OT, preserved by Marotte's last-second save". USCHO.com. 2017-03-16. Retrieved 2018-04-25.
20. "Christopoulos, Air Force blank Canisius 3-0 in AHC semifinal". USCHO.com. 2017-03-16. Retrieved 2018-04-25.
21. "Quick start launches Air Force past Robert Morris for Atlantic Hockey crown". USCHO.com. 2018-03-17. Retrieved 2018-04-25.
22. "Awards - NCAA (AHA) All-Tournament Team". EliteProspects. Retrieved 2018-04-25.