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AHA Men's Recap: January 3

January 3, 2025 - Sacred Heart goaltender Ajeet Gundarah picked up his second career shutout to lead the Pios to a 3-0 win over Air Force on Friday night. See below for a full recap of tonight's action around Atlantic Hockey America.

FINAL SCORES/RECAPS

AIC 3
Stonehill 1
Box Score
  • AIC jumped out to a 3-0 lead on a 1st period goal from Josh Barnes and 2nd period goals from Timofei Khokhlachev and John Lundy. Khokhlachev's goal at 2:54 of the 2nd period proved to be game-winner.
  • Josh Barnes put together a multi-point night on a goal and an assist. He scored the opening goal of the game at 19:46 of the 1st period and assisted on Lundy's 2nd period tally.
  • Peyton Grainer made 33 saves on 34 shots (.971 save percentage) to earn his second win of the season.
Merrimack 5
Army 2
Box Score
  • Mac Gadowsky and Adam Marshall scored 1st period goals for Army. Gadowsky leads the Black Knights with five goals and 11 points on the season. 
  • Army freshman goaltender JJ Cataldo made a season-high 45 saves on 49 shots, good for a save percentage of .918.
  • Merrimack went 1-for-2 on the power play, while Army went 0-for-1. Andrew Garby led the Black Knights with five blocks on the night.
(RV/RV) Bentley 2
Niagara 3*
(OT)
Box Score
  • The two teams traded goals during regulation, and Niagara's Tyler Wallace scored the game-winning goal at 3:55 of the overtime frame to give the Purple Eagles the victory. Shane Ott and Alex Murray assisted on the game-winner.
  • Niagara's Shane Ott picked up two points on a goal and an assist. He is now up to six goals and 15 assists for 21 points on the season.
  • Oskar Bakkevig and Ethan Leyh were the two goal-scorers for Bentley.
  • Niagara goaltender Pierce Charleson made 27 saves on 29 shots (.931 save percentage) to earn the win. Charleson's 27 saves moves his season total to an AHA-leading 586.
Air Force 0
(RV) Sacred Heart 3*
Box Score
  • Sacred Heart goaltender Ajeet Gundarah picked up his second career shutout by stopping all 26 shots he faced. The AHA Goaltender of the Month for December now has two shutouts in his last four starts, and has allowed just three total goals in that stretch (240:00 between the pipes).
  • Jake Hewitt broke the scoreless tie with a goal at 4:09 of the 2nd period. John Jaworski and Reid Pabich added empty-netters to seal the win for SHU.
  • Air Force goaltender Guy Blessing was also excellent between the pipes, as he made 25 saves on 26 shots, good for a save percentage of .962.
Mercyhurst 2
(3/3) Minnesota 6
Box Score
  • Riley Fitzgerald scored his seventh goal of the season at 7:09 of the 2nd period. The freshman forward also assisted on Connor Pelc's 2nd period goal, giving Fitzgerald his second multi-point game of the season.
  • Jaryd Sych led the Lakers with six blocked shots. The Lakers blocked 22 shots as a team.
  • Both teams went 1-for-3 on the power play. Minnesota out-shot Mercyhurst 45-22. 
Robert Morris 3 
(19/RV) Arizona State 7 #
Box Score
  • Mitch Deelstra scored two goals for the Colonials, both on the power play. Deelstra has now scored a goal in four of his last five games, and has three goals in his last two games. Deelstra also paced RMU with four shots on goal.
  • All three of RMU's goals came on the power play, as the Colonials went 3-for-6 on the man advantage. In addition to Deelstra's two power play markers, Michael Craig scored a power play goal at 19:05 of the 3rd period.
  • Junior defenseman Greg Japchen led the Colonials with five blocked shots. RMU blocked 15 shots as a team on the night.
Omaha 4
Holy Cross 3 $
(OT)
Box Score
  • Timothy Heinke (1g, 1a), Matthew Kursonis (1g, 1a), and Jack Seymour (2a) orchestrated multi-point nights for Holy Cross. 
  • All three of Holy Cross' goals came on the power play. The Crusaders went 3-for-5 on the man advantage, while the Mavericks went 0-for-5.
  • Holy Cross goaltender Thomas Gale stopped all 19 shots he faced in the 2nd period. Gale made a total of 32 saves on the night.
NEXT UP
Saturday, Jan. 4
(RV/RV) Bentley at Niagara* / 5:00 p.m. ET/ FloHockey
Air Force at (RV) Sacred Heart* / 5:05 p.m. ET / FloHockey
Guelph (Ont.) at RIT / 5:05 p.m. ET / Exhibition
Mercyhurst at (3/3) Minnesota / 5:00 p.m. CT / BIG+
(RV/RV) Massachusetts at Robert Morris # / 5:00 p.m. ET / Video
(RV/RV) Michigan Tech at Holy Cross $ / TBA / FloHockey

* - AHA conference game
# - Desert Hockey Classic, Tempe, Ariz.
$ - Cactus Cup, Palm Springs, Calif.

About Atlantic Hockey America
Atlantic Hockey America (AHA) embarks on its first season in 2024-25 after the merger between the Atlantic Hockey Association and College Hockey America. The conference fields 11 men’s teams (American International College, Bentley University, Canisius University, The College of Holy Cross, Mercyhurst University, Niagara University, Rochester Institute of Technology, Robert Morris University, Sacred Heart University, the United States Air Force Academy, and the United States Military Academy), and six women’s teams (Lindenwood University, Mercyhurst University, Penn State University, Rochester Institute of Technology, Robert Morris University, and Syracuse University). In 2025-26, Delaware University will join the women’s league. For more information, visit atlantichockeyamerica.com.