It’s an old sports writing cliche, but at this time of the season, you’ll often see stories listing what teams have to be thankful for so far.
Guilty as charged.
I’m offering a slight variation – here’s a player on each Atlantic Hockey America team whose play inspires gratitude from coaches, players, and fans, at least so far this season.
Air Force
Clayton Consentino (Senior Forward) – One of the best faceoff men in the country, he’s won more draws (205) than anyone in Division I and is doing it at a 56% clip. Consentino also leads the team in points (13) and is 12 away from the century mark for his career.
American International
Adam Manji (Freshman Goalie) – The 6-5 rookie netminder hasn’t seen a lot of time in net so far but in limited action (five games, two starts), Manji has a .921 SV% and a 2.32 GAA. He has wins in his only two starts, against Holy Cross and Niagara, two of the top teams in the conference.
Army West Point
JJ Cataldo (Freshman Goalie) – Another fantastic freshman, Cataldo has seen the majority of minutes for the Black Knights, posting a .942 SV%, ranked fifth in D-I, and a 1.73 GAA, good for 11th nationally.
Bentley
Connor Hasley (Junior Goalie) – Hasley is the hottest goalie in the country right now, posting three consecutive shutouts. He now holds school records for career shutouts (11) and shutouts in a season (four). He’ll put his streak on the line on Saturday when the Falcons visit Northeastern.
Canisius
Matteo Giampa (Sophomore Forward) – Giampa, last year’s Atlantic Hockey Rookie of the Year, shows no signs of a sophomore slump. His 15 points in 13 games is second in the conference. In last Friday’s 3-2 win at Mercyhurst, Giampa scored the game-winner with less than a minute to play.
Holy Cross
Liam McLinskey (Senior Forward) – Last year’s Player of the Year in Atlantic Hockey and Hobey Baker finalist is again near the top of the leaderboard. His 13 points lead the team and his eight goals are tied for second in the conference.
Mercyhurst
Carter McPhail (Grad student Goalie) – It’s not typical to list a goalie who is 0-6-1 so far this season, but McPhail’s play has been a bright spot for the Lakers (2-13-1). The Miami transfer has a respectable .912 save percentage and last weekend helped his team to two points in a shootout win, stopping all three Canisius shooters.
Niagara
Shane Ott (Senior Forward) – Ott leads Niagara’s high-flying offense with 16 points in 15 games, the highest point total in the conference. At this pace, Ott should reach the career century mark this season – he needs 18 more points.
Rochester Institue of Technology
Matthew Wilde (Sophmore Forward) – Wilde missed RIT’s first eight games and it was noticeable. Since returning he has nine points (four goals, five assists) in six games, leading the conference in points per game.
Robert Morris
Croix Kochendorfer (Freshman Goalie) – Another rookie goaltender making big contributions, Kochendorfer sports a .915 SV% and a 2.42 GAA. Last Friday, he stopped 39 shots in a 4-3 overtime loss at North Dakota.
Sacred Heart
Ajeet Gundarah (Freshman Goalie) – Yes, it’s the year of the rookie goalie in Atlantic Hockey America. Gundarah has started the last six games for the Pioneers, posting a 5-0-1 record including a shootout win. His 2.38 GAA is tied for third in the conference.
I hope everyone has a peaceful and healthy Thanksgiving holiday. Catch some hockey if you can.
