Unfortunately I am not going to a major airport in the N.E. but a regional. Believe it or not the options winnow down very quickly. I used to fly through YYZ but AC abandoned the connecting flight (justifiably). That is how I ended up connecting through ORD or DEN as they had the most convenient schedule.
I did a brief check of AC and UA schedules and the best routings they came up with were the ones I described. I will go back to Kayak to check out the other airlines, but based on past experience I am not too hopeful. The good news is my next trip down is at the end of June before schedule changes.