The Atlantic Hockey Association boasts three of the top eight Division I programs in save percentage, as the conference paces the NCAA in quality goaltending after the fall semester.

Atlantic Hockey rounds out the top 20 with three more programs, giving the AHA six teams among the top 20 for this category.

Grad transfers, freshmen, breakouts; whatever the context, Atlantic Hockey is seeing strong play from some of its conference netminders.

Despite sitting in sixth place in the AHA, Holy Cross is third in the NCAA for team save percentage with .923, split between Jason Grande and Thomas Gale.

The goaltending tandem Grande and Gale holds a 9-7-3 record through the first semester.

Gale, a junior from Kirkland, Quebec, is on his way to a career year, and his three wins already matched last year’s win mark. He has a 1.99 GA and .931 SV%, which place him seventh and fourth in the NCAA, respectively.

Grande, a fifth-year senior, is in his second season with the Crusaders, and his 2.07 GAA and .926 SV% have led him to a 6-3-2 record. Grande’s goals-against average and save percentage rank 10th and seventh in the NCAA.

Watch the Holy Cross tandem in action, and livestream every Atlantic Hockey game – and much more – all season on FloHockey.

Just behind Holy Cross, RIT sits fifth in the NCAA with a team .922 save percentage.

Junior Tommy Scarfone is building on his impressive sophomore campaign last season and has a .926 save percentage, alongside a 2.33 goals-against average. His 10 wins ranks eighth in the NCAA, and he holds the highest winning percentage in the NCAA among goalies with double-digit wins.

RIT ran away with the conference title last year and sits atop Atlantic Hockey through the fall semester.

Fifth-year senior Luke Lush, a transfer from Sacred Heart, holds a 1-1 record with a 2.52 GAA and .922 SV% as a formidable backup.

Coming in at a team save percentage of .919, Mercyhurst sits sixth in the NCAA.

For a typical run-and-gun offense, the Lakers have given up the fourth most shots this season, further iterating the strength of their crease.

Sophomore Owen Say has improved his stat line across the board, increasing his win total, winning percentage, goals-against average and save percentage, all through four more games played this season.

Joined by Say is freshman Simon Bucheler, who sits at 1-2 with a shutout, 2.76 GAA and .930 SV%.

Bentley is 20th with a .910 save percentage.

Senior Nicholas Grabko has matched his previous career-high win total with five wins through nine games, previously earning five wins over 16 games during the 2022-23 season and five wins during the 2020-2021 campaign.

Grabko holds a .919 SV% and 2.02 GAA, both career highs. He also has recorded two shutouts this season, the only two shutouts of his 50-game collegiate career.

Tandem partner Connor Halsey holds a .900 SV%, 2.02 GAA and shutout. The sophomore has split time with Grabko, each having played nine games. The pair have Bentley on pace for their highest win total since the 2019-2020 season.

Entering their second “inaugural” season, Robert Morris had one roster question answered: goaltending.

The Colonials brought in grad transfer Chad Veltri from Niagara. Veltri brought 97 games of NCAA experience, along with a 34-38-8 record.

Chad Veltri has become the 10th goaltender in Atlantic Hockey history to reach 3,000 career saves tonight.#AtlanticHockey pic.twitter.com/Up4fkwOkiF

— Atlantic Hockey (@Atlantic_Hockey) December 2, 2023

The Colonials hold a team save percentage of .912, which places them tied for 15th nationally.

Veltri will look to rest during the break, after playing in 19-of-20 games this season, where his numbers have thinned recently and his goal support ranks 60th among 64 programs, with just two goals per game.

Below their conference rivals, but still among the league’s upper echelon, Sacred Heart and Bentley sit at 15th and 20th, respectively, for league save percentage.

Sacred Heart sits second in the conference with a game in hand on RIT.

Sophomore Chase Clark transferred from Quinnipiac, where he got into parts of eight games but no starts. Clark, a 2021 sixth-round draft pick of the Washington Capitals, holds an 8-7 record with a 2.54 GAA and .916 SV%.

Freshman Cullen DeYoung holds a 2.14 GAA and .927 SV% and has allowed just three goals in 84 minutes across two games.

Rounding out the 11-team AHA, AIC and Canisius sit tied at 44th, Niagara is 54th, Air Force is 56th and Army is 60th among the 64 Division I programs.

But it doesn’t mean these programs aren’t bringing the highlights themselves.

AIC sits third in the conference, and Canisius is in fourth place.

Plays of the Week! #AHA pic.twitter.com/PaqGohHUhw

— Atlantic Hockey (@Atlantic_Hockey) December 19, 2023

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Have a question or a comment for Jacob Messing? You can find him on Twitter @Jacob_Messing.