With a weekend to go in the regular season, the difference between first place and last place in Atlantic Hockey is just 10 points. That’s unprecedented.
For comparison, here’s the delta between first and last in the other conferences (granted, some leagues award three points for a win, but it’s still striking):
Big Ten: 32
ECAC: 27
Hockey East: 18
NCHC: 28
WCHA: 51
And looking at Atlantic Hockey year over year, you can see how unique this season has been:
| Season | Points between first and last | Largest point gap between teams |
| 2006-07 | 26 | 8 (between 5th-6th) |
| 2007-08 | 18 | 4 (between 5th-6th) |
| 2008-09 | 31 | 7 (between 11th-12th) |
| 2009-10 | 31 | 10 (between 1st-2nd) |
| 2010-11 | 22 | 7 (between 10th-11th) |
| 2011-12 | 25 | 8 (between 9th-10th) |
| 2012-13 | 34 | 11 (between 11th-12th) |
| 2013-14 | 30 | 9 (between 11th-12th) |
| 2014-15 | 28 | 6 (between 1st-2nd and 8th-9th) |
| 2015-16 | 25 | 8 (between 5th-6th and 9th-10th) |
| 2016-17 | 34 | 13 (between 10th-11th) |
| 2017-18 | 10 | 2 (yes, TWO. No team is more than 2 points ahead of the team behind it in the standings) |
“I’ve never seen anything like this, ” said RIT coach Wayne Wilson. “Not as a coach or as a player.”
Strap in. It’s going to be a wild weekend.
