Inside Atlantic Hockey

Brendan Hamblet had a big week for Bentley as his 4 goals helped Bentley sweep a home-and-home with Holy Cross and secure home ice in the first round of the AHA Tournament. The Falcons open their march to Buffalo this weekend against Canisius at Bentley Arena. Take a listen to Brendan's interview with Bernie as he talks about the close to the season and what the postseason can bring his Bentley team.

Daniel Mantenuto has experienced just about everything the Atlantic Hockey playoffs have to offer during his time at Robert Morris. This year, the Colonials are playing on the first weekend of the tournament, but they're home where they've had much success in the playoffs. Mantenuto talks with Bernie about the new season the playoffs present and the opportunity that lies ahead of the Colonials.

Blake Christensen comes back to Inside Atlantic Hockey as a senior now for the newly-crowned back-to-back Atlantic Hockey Regular Season Champions, AIC Yellow Jackets. He chats with Bernie about AIC's early-season struggles in the face of high expectations following last year's NCAA run. Blake also talks about the surreal turnaround from his freshman year to senior year and how a Ping Pong Tournament following a loss to Providence sparked an 11-game winning streak.

Marshall Bowery, a junior at the Air Force Academy, is our guest this week as he sits down to chat with Bernie before the final weekend of the season. Bowery had the game-winning goal in Saturday's win for Air Force, locking Air Force into at least home ice in the first round of the AHA Tournament. He chats about that, the parity in Atlantic Hockey, and his journey to the Academy with Bernie this week!

Army senior and assistant captain Dominic Franco joins the show for the first time in his career. Franco, at 6'5", has been a steady and physical force for the Black Knights since the moment he stepped on campus. He's enjoying one of his better seasons and so too is Army, who are looking to lock up home ice in the AHA Quarterfinals, something they did two years ago, by facing the two teams ahead of them in the standings.

It's been a trying year for the Mercyhurst Lakers, but the season hasn't changed the focus of long-time head coach Rick Gotkin one bit. His Lakers are young and still finding their way in Atlantic Hockey and while the team started well, their youth has shown as they've lost a number of close games in the second half. Rick joined Bernie to talk about the season and how the playoffs represent an opportunity at a new year.

Chris Harpur, the reigning Defensive Player of the Week, joins Bernie after Niagara's big sweep of Mercyhurst. The Purple Eagles are in the middle of a handful of teams vying for playoff positioning and thanks, in part, to Harpur's individual performance on the back-end last week, Niagara currently has home ice in the first round.

Shawn Cameron had a great weekend as RIT went to Robert Morris and earned 4-of-6 points in a key road series. He talks with Bernie about the series and how he feels the Tigers are hitting their stride with the Atlantic Hockey Tournament on the horizon.

Matt Hoover was named the Atlantic Hockey Player of the Month for January and was the driving force behind Canisius' second-half surge. The Golden Griffins are 5-3-3 since the semester break and are within striking distance of a home series in the AHA Playoffs.

Kevin Darrar recently saw his six-game goal streak come to an end but not before he helped lead his Crusaders to a 4-1-1 record in those six games. The senior joined Bernie to talk about his recent run, the Crusaders' success in the second half, and what lies ahead.