HARMAR Twp., Pa. — The IUP Hawks took control of the CHMA conference on Saturday night, dealing Duquesne their fourth conference loss of the season, 5-1, to drop the Dukes to 10-4. Each team finished the 2017-18 season 5-7-2, with IUP edging the Dukes on tiebreakers for the final playoff spot. This season, the teams have doubled those win totals and sit one-two atop the conference standings.
The Hawks took control of the game early, putting nine shots on goal against Dukes goaltender Wade Conlan. Duquesne could only muster a single shot on goal through the first half of the period. As the first period wound to a close, the game evened out, but was scoreless at the first break.
Then, just 36 seconds into the second period, Duquesne broke the scoreless tie off the stick of Manny Mancha. It was all downhill from there for the Dukes, though. After allowing four goals in a three minute span, Conlan was removed in favor of senior goaltender Alex Taylor, who stopped every shot he faced through the rest of the game. The Hawks empty net goal in the third gave them the 5-1 win, their second of the season by that score over the Dukes to sweep the season series.
MAJOR FOCUS: IUP CLINCHES FIRST-ROUND BYE, SWEEPS DUQUESNE
The Pitt Panthers entered the game against Robert Morris having outscored conference opponents in their past five games 22-9. Unfortunately, it was the Panthers who were outscored, falling 3-1 as the Colonials finally clinched a playoff berth, having missed that chance the night before against West Virginia.
MAJOR FOCUS: ROBERT MORRIS CLINCHES PLAYOFF BERTH
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Weekend scores from around the CHMA:
Thursday, February 14:
IUP 4, Slippery Rock 3 (OT)
Friday, February 15:
Duquesne 4, JOHN CARROLL 3 (OT)
West Virginia 5, ROBERT MORRIS 2
Saturday, February 16:
MERCYHURST 5, Toledo 3
JOHN CARROLL 7, West Virginia 1
Robert Morris 3, PITT 1
IUP 5, DUQUESNE 1
Sunday, February 17:
Toledo 5, MERCYHURST 3
CHMA STANDINGS
The top six teams qualify for the CHMA Tournament (March 1-3 @ Alpha Ice Complex). The top two seeds based on points will receive a first-round bye. No. 3 will play No. 6 and No. 4 will play No. 5. The playoff winner will receive the conference’s automatic bid to the 2019 ACHA National Tournament in Frisco, Texas at the end of March.
x- earned playoff berth
y- clinched first-round bye
z- clinched No. 1 seed
CLINCHED:
- The IUP Hawks clinched a first-round bye with their win over Duquesne Saturday night.
- The RMU Colonials clinched a playoff spot with their win over Pitt Saturday night.
CLINCHING SCENARIOS:
- IUP can clinch the top seed in the playoffs with a win over West Virginia on Friday OR a Slippery Rock loss to John Carroll or Pitt on Thursday, Friday, or Saturday, in any fashion.
- Duquesne clinches a first-round bye with a Slippery Rock loss to John Carroll on Thursday AND a Pitt-Slippery Rock weekend split in regulation on Friday and Saturday. No overtimes permitted. The Dukes cannot get the top seed.
- Pitt can clinch a first-round bye with two wins over Slippery Rock on Friday and Saturday. The Panthers cannot get the top seed.
- Slippery Rock clinches the top seed with a win over John Carroll on Thursday and two wins over Pitt on Friday and Saturday. The Pride clinch a first-round bye with two wins in any of those three games.
CURRENT MATCHUPS:
Friday, March 1
No. 3 Pitt vs. No. 6 John Carroll, 7:00 PM
No. 4 Slippery Rock vs. No. 5 Robert Morris, 9:00 PM
Saturday, March 2
No. 1 IUP vs. (LOWEST REMAINING SEED), 2:00 PM
No. 2 Duquesne vs. (HIGHEST REMAINING SEED), 2:00 PM
Sunday, March 3
CHMA Championship, 12:00 PM
NOTES:
- Pitt owns the tiebreaker over Slippery Rock with a better goals for/goals against differential.
| Team | W | L | OTL | Points | Games Played (Out of 14) | Max Points Possible | GF | GA | GD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| xyz-Indiana (PA) | 11 | 2 | 0 | 22 | 13 | 24 | 54 | 27 | 27 |
| x-Duquesne | 10 | 4 | 0 | 20 | 14 | 20 | 54 | 43 | 11 |
| x-Pittsburgh | 8 | 3 | 1 | 17 | 12 | 21 | 42 | 26 | 16 |
| x-Slippery Rock | 8 | 3 | 1 | 17 | 12 | 21 | 53 | 43 | 10 |
| x-John Carroll | 5 | 7 | 1 | 11 | 13 | 13 | 53 | 52 | 1 |
| x-Robert Morris (PA) | 4 | 7 | 3 | 11 | 14 | 11 | 38 | 46 | -6 |
| Mercyhurst | 4 | 9 | 0 | 8 | 13 | 10 | 37 | 68 | -31 |
| West Virginia | 2 | 7 | 4 | 8 | 13 | 10 | 34 | 58 | -24 |
UPCOMING CHMA GAMES:
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 19
Mercyhurst @ Robert Morris
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 21
Slippery Rock @ John Carroll, 9:00 PM
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 22
Duquesne @ Kent State, 7:30 PM
IUP @ West Virginia, 9:30 PM
SUNY Cortland @ Robert Morris, 9:35 PM
Pittsburgh @ Slippery Rock, 10:00 PM
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 23
Mercyhurst @ John Carroll, 3:00 PM
SUNY Cortland @ Robert Morris, 6:20 PM
Slippery Rock @ Pittsburgh, 9:20 PM
Kent State @ Duquesne, 9:30 PM
Check out the ACHA schedule here for upcoming ACHA games.
