Ahead of the upcoming announcements about the all-Atlantic Hockey Conference teams, league MVP and rookie of the year, I wanted to take a look back at how the league’s coaches and those who cover the league fared in their preseason predictions.
The league finished with just a 14-point spread from first to last place, and no team was more than eight points away from a first-round playoff bye. Welcome to one of the craziest seasons in memory.
I will list each team by how they finished (going by playoff seeding) with a comment on where the coaches, media and yours truly picked the team.
First place: Mercyhurst. (Coaches – 7th, Media – 6th, Flight Path – 6th)
Comment: This is exhibit A for overlooking a team. No one came close, and hats off to the Lakers for proving everyone wrong. And they did it with offense. Their 113 goals were the most in the league.
Second place: Canisius (Coaches – 5th, Media – 3rd, Flight Path – 4th)
Comment: Obviously, my media brethren were on the right track with the Golden Griffins, who might have finished first had not injures sidelined two thirds of their top line down the stretch. They scored the third most goals but allowed almost as many.
Third place: Holy Cross (Coaches – 6th, Media – 7th; Flight Path – 8th)
Comment: Much like Mercyhurst, the Crusaders qualify as a surprise. They allowed the third fewest goals, and goalie Paul Berrafato was outstanding.
Fourth place: Army, which tied for third (Coaches -3rd, Media – 4th, Flight Path – 3rd)
Comment: The Black Knights scored the second fewest goals, but they also allowed the second fewest. They have all of us feeling a bit better about ourselves, albeit temporarily.
Fifth place: Air Force, which tied for third (Coaches – 1st, Media – 1st, Flight Path – 1st)
Comment: The Falcons endured an unreal rash of injuries that affected nearly every player in the lineup at some point. One guy they didn’t was goalie Billy Christopoulous, who played the most minutes of any goalie in the nation and helped AFA allow the fewest goals in the conference.
Sixth place: RIT (Coaches – 4th, Media – 5th, Flight Path – 5th)
Comment: The Tigers had a prolific offense – second only to Mercyhurst – but also allowed the most goals by a wide margin. This was roughly what was expected.
Seventh place: RMU (Coaches – 2nd, Media – 2nd, Flight Path – 2nd).
Comment: A late-season swoon was a bit puzzling and cost the Colonials a playoff bye. A fairly big surprise, obviously, from a team that played AFA in the AHC title game a year ago.
Eighth place: AIC (Coaches – 9th, Media – 9th, Flight Path – 9th)
Comment: I was told earlier in the season the Yellow Jackets would be better, and they were, especially defensively, but they really struggled to put the puck in the net – their 77 goals were the fewest in the league.
Ninth place: Niagara, tied with Bentley (Coaches – 11th, Media – 11th, Flight Path – 10th)
Comment: One of the early-season darlings, the Purple Eagles actually were ranked in December. A rough second half shouldn’t overshadow quantum improvement by the program, which struggled to score as the season progressed thanks to injuries to key offensive players.
Tenth place: Bentley, tied for ninth (Coaches – 8th, Media – 8th, Flight Path – 8th)
Comment: The Falcons ran hot and cold, and had some issues keeping pucks out of the net. A new arena should provide a shot in the arm.
Eleventh place: Sacred Heart (Coaches – 10th, Media – 10th, Flight Path – 11th)
Comment: The Pioneers had moments when they were very solid, and stats indicate they could have finished higher as they were middle of the pack in both offense and defense. With a young lineup, their future seems bright.
Number of picks right on the number: Coaches – 1; Media – 1; Flight Path – 2
In a crazy season in a tightly packed conference, would you expect any different?
©First Line Editorial 2017-18
