THE WEEK AHEAD
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 8
Niagara at Notre Dame
7 p.m. ET
Compton Family Ice Arena
Notre Dame, Ind.
Watch on Peacock
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 9
Niagara at Notre Dame
7 p.m. ET
Compton Family Ice Arena
Notre Dame, Ind.
Watch on Peacock
Vermont at Bentley
7 p.m. ET
Bentley Arena
Waltham, Mass.
Watch on FloHockey
Bowling Green at Sacred Heart
7 p.m. ET
Martire Family Ice Arena
Fairfield, Conn.
Watch on FloHockey
Ice Breaker Tournament
RIT at #18/T-17 Massachusetts
7:05 p.m. ET
Mullins Center
Amherst, Mass.
Watch on ESPN+
Canisius at Long Island
7:30 p.m. ET
Northwell Health Ice Center
East Meadow, N.Y.
Watch on FloHockey
Air Force at St. Thomas
7 p.m. CT
Lee & Penny Anderson Arena
St. Paul, Minn.
Watch on NCHC.tv
Holy Cross at Arizona State
7 p.m. MT
Mullett Arena
Tempe, Ariz.
Watch on NCHC.tv
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 10
Holy Cross at Arizona State
3 p.m. MT
Mullett Arena
Tempe, Ariz.
Watch on NCHC.tv
Northeastern at Bentley
6 p.m. ET
Bentley Arena
Waltham, Mass.
Watch on FloHockey
Penn State at Sacred Heart
7 p.m. ET
Martire Family Ice Arena
Fairfield, Conn.
Watch on FloHockey
Ice Breaker Tournament
Air Force at St. Thomas
6 p.m. CT
Lee & Penny Anderson Arena
St. Paul, Minn.
Watch on NCHC.tv
RIT at #18/T-17 Massachusetts
7:05 p.m. ET
Mullins Center
Amherst, Mass.
Watch on ESPN+
Canisius at Long Island
7:30 p.m. ET
Northwell Health Ice Center
East Meadow, N.Y.
Watch on FloHockey
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 11
RMC at Army West Point (Exhibition)
2 p.m. ET
Tate Rink
West Point, N.Y.
Watch on FloHockey
Rankings listed are from the USCHO.com Poll / USA Hockey Poll
TEAM NOTES
AIR FORCE
• Air Force and St. Thomas split a series in Colorado Springs last October, with each team winning by four-plus goals.
ARMY WEST POINT
• Senior Brent Keefer (Colorado Springs, Colo.) had a goal and an assist in the first period of the season opener against Union, his 11th career multiple-point game. He has points in each of the last three season openers.
• Sunday’s rivalry game with Royal Military College will be featured on FloHockey 24/7, the platform’s free, ad-supported streaming station available on YouTube and select platforms like fubo and Amazon Prime Video. The Black Knights and Paladins compete for the Challenge Trophy in the longest-running international college hockey series, which dates to 1923.
BENTLEY
• The defending league champion Falcons will raise their championship banners prior to Friday’s game.
• Bentley faces Vermont and Northeastern this weekend. The Falcons were 0-3-0 against Hockey East teams last season, but two of those losses came in overtime.
CANISIUS
• Freshman Jack Lisson (Oakville, Ont.) became the first Canisius goaltender to post a shutout in his Golden Griffins debut in the program’s Division I era (since 1998-99). He is the first freshman to start the team’s season opener since 2005-06. Lisson appeared in relief on Saturday and did not allow a goal; he is the only goaltender in the nation with multiple appearances and no goals allowed. Friday’s 4-0 win marked the first time in Canisius’s 47 seasons that it has opened the year with a shutout.
• The AHA’s top three individuals in shots on goal are from Canisius: L-P Fontaine (Chambly, Que., 10), Rhys Chiddenton (Campbellville, Ont., 8) and Walter Zacher (Buffalo, N.Y., 8).
HOLY CROSS
• Senior defenseman Will Elias (Weston, Mass.) had two assists in Saturday’s win and blocked 12 shots on the weekend, including a career-high seven on Friday. He leads the nation in blocks with four more than the next-closest player.
• Holy Cross and goalie Danick Leroux (Candiac, Que.) allowed only one five-on-five goal in their weekend series with Maine.
NIAGARA
• Freshman Theo Lemieux (Ste-Clair, Que.) scored his first career goal while shorthanded on Saturday, the first Niagara defenseman to score a shorthanded goal since 2022-23. He finished the weekend with a +4 rating.
• This weekend at Notre Dame marks Niagara’s first regular-season games against a Big Ten opponent since splitting a series in South Bend Jan. 1-2, 2022. The Purple Eagles also play a home-and-home series with Penn State this season (Dec. 31, Jan. 2).
RIT
• Four sophomores and a senior had multiple points for the Tigers in their series vs. Niagara. Freshman Julian Demiglio (Concord, Ont.) scored his first collegiate goal in Saturday’s win.
• RIT boasts two of the five active AHA players with 60-plus career points, both Mississauga, Ont., natives: Matthew Wilde (71) and Christian Catalano (62).
ROBERT MORRIS
• The Colonials held Wisconsin to one goal Saturday night, a power-play tally. Sophomore goaltender Charlie Schenkel (Toronto, Ont.) stopped 42 shots, a career high in a non-playoff game. Off this weekend, RMU returns to action Oct. 15 & 17 vs. Miami.
SACRED HEART
• Junior Vitaly Levyy (Old Brookville, N.Y.) scored two first-period goals in SHU’s 3-0 exhibition win against Carleton Sunday.
• Sacred Heart is the third AHA program to host or co-host the Ice Breaker Tournament (Holy Cross, 2021 and Air Force, 2022).
STAT OF THE WEEK
Army has five of the top 12 active career scorers among Atlantic Hockey America players.
Most Career Points, Active AHA Players
80 – Walter Zacher, Canisius
71 – Devin Phillips, Sacred Heart
Matthew Wilde, RIT
67 – Kellan Hjartarson, Bentley
62 – Christian Catalano, RIT
59 – Nik Hong, Army West Point
58 – Brent Keefer, Army West Point
Barron Woodring, Army West Point
53 – Jack Ivey, Army West Point
48 – Nils Forselius, Army West Point
Brendan Gibbons, Air Force
Sam Stitz, Air Force
Sacred Heart’s Ajeet Gundarah (Richmond, B.C.) leads all active NCAA goaltenders with a .933 career save percentage.
Best Career Save Pct., Active AHA Players
.933 – Ajeet Gundarah, Sacred Heart
.921 – JJ Cataldo, Army West Point
.917 – Lukas Swedin, Bentley
.910 – Dominik Wasik, Air Force
Find more active career stat leaders here.
THE AHA SHOW
The Atlantic Hockey America Show is published each Thursday during the season on AHA’s YouTube page and wherever you find podcasts.
This week, host Mike Puzzanghera will welcome Sacred Heart’s C.J. Marottolo to preview the Ice Breaker Tournament.