Chris Lerch

ROCHESTER, N.Y. — The official attendance for the first semifinal of the Atlantic Hockey tournament was announced to be 463, and that was generous. Only around 100 people were actually in Blue Cross Arena, which seats 10,600, for the opening face-off between Robert Morris and Mercyhurst. Rochester has hosted the championships since 2007. Attendance has … Read more

Last week: Dan: 8-3 Chris: 10-1 On the season: Dan: 112-88-25 (.553) Chris: 123-78-25 (.600) This Week’s Picks Friday, March 16 Atlantic Hockey Semifinals No. 7 Robert Morris vs. No. 1 Mercyhurst Chris: Despite the parity exhibited all season, we have four of the usual suspects to make it to Rochester. History has been hard … Read more

ROCHESTER, N.Y. — As is often the case in playoff hockey, getting the first goal is key. That’s been especially true for Canisius this season. The Golden Griffins came into the Atlantic Hockey semifinals against defending champions Air Force with a 17-1-1 record when getting the first goal, but just 2-15-2 when not scoring first. … Read more

Three (four) things from quarterfinals weekend in Atlantic Hockey: And then there were four When the dust had settled after the four Atlantic Hockey quarterfinal series, two higher seeds and two lower ones moved on to Rochester. Two series went the distance while three of the four needed overtime to settle at least one game. … Read more

Last week: Dan: 8-0 Chris: 7-2 On the season: Dan: 104-85-25 (.544) Chris: 113-77-25 (.584) This Week’s Picks Friday, March 9 – Sunday, March 11 Atlantic Hockey First Round Best Of Three Series No. 11 Sacred Heart at No. 1 Mercyhurst Chris: With just 10 points separating first and last place this season, this is … Read more

Last week: Dan: 4-5-1 Chris: 6-3-1 On the season: Dan: 96-85-25 (.527) Chris: 106-75-25 (.575) This Week’s Picks Friday, March 2 – Sunday, March 4 Atlantic Hockey First Round Best Of Three Series No. 11 Sacred Heart at No. 6 Rochester Institute of Technology Chris: The teams split two weeks ago and I think they’ll … Read more

Down to the wire The 2017-18 Atlantic Hockey regular season is in the books. It was the closest race in league history, and when the dust had settled, Mercyhurst claimed its second regular season title and first since 2014. Picked to finish eighth by the coaches at the start of the season, the Lakers were … Read more

Félix Chamberland scored with 40 seconds left in the third period to give the Golden Griffins the win and second overall seed in the Atlantic Hockey tournament. Niagara led 2-1 after the first period on goals from Kris Spriggs and Derian Plouffe. Dylan McLaughlin tied the game for Canisius midway through the second period with his … Read more

ROCHESTER, N.Y. — It easy to say that the Mercyhurst Lakers exceeded expectations this season, but not those of Lakers coach Rick Gotkin. “The coaches picked us to finish eighth, and the media picked us seventh,” said Gotkin. “And maybe deservedly so, but we felt like we had a good team, a mature team, and … Read more

The Falcons lead 2-1 after two periods on goals from Phil Boje and Marshall Bowery. RMU’s Brady Ferguson had a goal and an assist for this 157th and 158 career points, moving into first place all time at the school. Air Force outshot Robert Morris 29-21. Billy Christopolous made 19 saves for Air Force, while … Read more

Tyler Pham’s eighth goal of the season early in the third period was the eventual game-winner, giving the host Black Knights a 4-2 lead at the time. Sacred Heart cut the lead to one on a goal by Kory Kennedy 8:09 left in regulation, but Cole Bruns and the Black Knights shut the door after … Read more