New England Hockey Journal’s NCAA preview series continues with a look inside Atlantic Hockey, where the most recent shortened season featured a schedule heavy on conference play. All 10 teams are set to begin a full 2021-22 slate this weekend.
The lighter game load didn’t stop American International from emerging at the top of the standings and repeating as conference champions, having their chance at three straight titles and NCAA tournament appearances eliminated at the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Yellow Jackets have put together a deep roster and soared to a record run in recent years, as only one team has ever won three straight regular-season crowns.
So, too, has the conference as a whole. Sacred Heart looks to remain in the upper echelon after setting program records two years ago, while Bentley continues to break in a sparkling arena and Holy Cross is beginning a new era under Bill Riga.
As a new season begins, these are some of the top returning sophomores and juniors looking to make some noise for the four local clubs in Atlantic Hockey.
Previously, NEHJ previewed the top seniors in AHA, as well as the conference as a whole.
Forwards
Matt Gosiewski (Wilton, Conn.)
Bentley, 05/10/98, 6-5/220
A New Englander from Wilton, Conn., is Bentley’s top returning scorer as he logged 15 points in 16 games as a sophomore after finishing as the second among all league freshmen in scoring (10-14-24) in 2019-20. He enjoyed a pair of two-goal games late last season, including one in the postseason against Air Force. Gosiewski, who brings great size and skill to the center for the Falcons, skated with both Jakov Novak and Luke Santerno at the end of his debut year and will have to play a key role in replacing the production of both graduates this season.
Julius Janhonen
American International, 03/05/99, 6-1/180
Janhonen’s numbers from his freshman campaign — three goals and eight points in 17 games — don’t immediately jump off the page, but he was a player cited by AIC coach Eric Lang as having made a significant jump following a year of experience playing the North American game. The native of Espoo, Finland scored points in the Yellow Jackets’ last five games of January before a near two-month break entering the playoffs and will look to build off of a strong late-season push.
Kevin Lombardi
Sacred Heart, 08/12/98, 6-4/234
Although four Sacred Heart players scored more total points including junior Braeden Tuck and senior Austin Magera, it was Lombardi who led the team with eight goals in 17 games. The big winger jumped right into the middle of the offense last season after scoring just one goal as a freshman and also led the team with a plus-3 rating and 61 shots on goal, which ranked in a tie for eighth in the AHA and tops among players at the four New England programs.
Alex Peterson
Holy Cross, 03/27/98, 5-10/172
Though the Crusaders have struggled to find goals over his first two seasons, Peterson has been one of the most frequent offensive weapons and enters his junior year as the team’s top returning scorer. He led Holy Cross with nine points a year ago and was one shy of recent pro signee Jake Pappalardo’s (Salem, N.H.) in the goal column with four. Upon entering college hockey from the NAHL, the quick-skating Peterson was the team’s top rookie point-getter with 16, including seven goals, in 2019-20.
Defensemen
Grant Anderson
Sacred Heart, 09/15/99, 6-2/180
With five defensemen among Sacred Heart’s eight transfers, the Pioneers will look to the likes of Anderson to provide experience from within the program. The sophomore from Minnesota and the USHL’s Omaha Lancers showed off the offensive side of his game right away as a rookie, scoring a goal -- one of just three from the entire team’s back end -- and seven assists in 18 games during the shortened season.
Drew Bavaro
Bentley, 06/10/00, 6-3/200
The former All-ISL contributor and two-year captain at Lawrence Academy burst onto the scene during his shortened college debut and earned All-Rookie honors as Gosiewski did a year earlier. Bavaro was a pivotal player at both ends of the ice, scoring two goals — including one in his second career game — and 10 assists, compiling a plus-4 rating, and ranking fourth on the team with 16 blocked shots. He is the lone player from a New England school listed on the Preseason All-AHA Team.
Zak Galambos
American International, 05/27/97, 6-2/185
Galambos played in just four games at Minnesota State before he transferred to AIC and made an immediate impact last season, recording 10 points and a plus-10 rating in 16 games. He scored three of his four goals on the power play and is in line to see top minutes on the right side following the graduation of Brennan Kapcheck. After winning a BCHL championship with Wenatchee (2018) and the WCHA title in Mankato (2019), the Californian helped AIC to its second straight Jack Riley Trophy at AIC.
Jack Robilotti
Holy Cross, 07/18/01, 6-3/194
The New York native was the only Crusader freshman defenseman who played in all 16 games during the shortened season, adding two goals and three points to the offense while leading the team with 23 blocked shots. Robilotti headed back east to Worcester after playing for the USHL’s Fargo Force following a four-year run at South Kent School, where he captained a 2019 USA Hockey U18 National Championship team as a senior.
Goaltenders
Jake Kucharski
American International, 09/25/99, 6-4/220
Kucharski played behind senior Stefano Durante last season and shined during his seven appearances as a redshirt freshman, the last of which came against North Dakota in the NCAA tournament. The Pennsylvania native and former Providence College transfer won all five starts while posting a .916 save percentage, earning a spot on the Mike Richter Award watch list. A seventh-round pick of the Carolina Hurricanes in 2018, he is the first player in Yellow Jacket history to be an NHL draftee while on the roster.
Matt Radomsky
Holy Cross, 06/21/99, 6-2/185
Radomsky struggled (4.03 GAA, .870 save percentage) in five starts as senior Erik Gordon took control of the net for the majority of last season, but he was the go-to man as a freshman under then-head coach David Berard. Coming from juniors in his native Manitoba, he started his career with a 31-save victory against Providence and earned the program’s first playoff shutout since 2009, finishing the year with a .904 mark. New bench boss Bill Riga will have a veteran backstop whichever way he turns.
