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When you first take the reins of a Division I hockey program that doesn’t belong to a conference, you, your staff and your new players are logistically up against it straight away.
Of the 63 schools currently fielding D-I men’s hockey teams, just five of them are independents and none are going about their business like Notre Dame does in football. Putting together a full slate of games is exponentially tougher for virtually every other independent college sports program, and in Long Island’s fifth season, the Sharks know they’re no exception that way.
On the ice, though, under the guidance of first-year coach Brendan Riley, LIU looks to have the makings of something else.
The Sharks are 7-9, with only one game left, this Saturday at Merrimack, before LIU cools its heels for the holidays. Not bad for a team that has only played two non-exhibition home games this season, and whose accomplishments thus far aren’t just limited to wins on the scoreboard.
LIU has put the college hockey world on notice, reaching as high as No. 15 in the NCAA Power Index, a new formula used for selection and seeding for the NCAA tournament. The Sharks reached those heights seven weeks into the season, fresh off a road split against Minnesota.
The Sharks added a 6-2 win Nov. 14 in Minneapolis to another win over a then-ranked opponent, 6-1 on Oct. 11 at Canisius, as well as narrow losses to then-No. 2 Boston University and No. 5 Penn State. Those defeats, Oct. 4 in Boston and Oct. 17 in University Park, Pa., came by a combined three goals, with LIU falling 5-4 in overtime in a weekend series opener against the Nittany Lions.
It’s been a promising start under Riley, who previously spent four seasons on the coaching staff at American International. But after AIC announced that the 2024-25 season would be the Yellow Jackets’ last before their transition to Division II status, AIC’s loss of Riley and four players that he brought with him from western Massachusetts was very much LIU’s gain.
“It’s been a breath of fresh air, in some respects,” Riley said. “We had a good thing going there hockey-wise, but from the school side of things, LIU is certainly not a place that’s deficient in resources, and there’s a lot of people willing to help in a great area and a great hockey community. It’s been good in that respect, and it’s obviously been a big transition for me being in a different role. It’s been a lot of learning and a lot of change and new stuff, but it’s been great so far.
“Changes are like something as simple as having a lounge at the rink. At AIC, we just had a locker room, and it wasn’t our rink. This (the Northwell Health Ice Center, LIU’s home and the training center of the NHL’s New York Islanders) isn’t our rink, however, when you walk in, there’s LIU branding everywhere. Inside of our rink, there’s branding on the ice, and we certainly feel more at home.
“At AIC, we were kind of in our own world. We were off-campus at our rink, so we didn’t bump into too many other people,” Riley continued. “They were definitely putting more toward hockey, but they kind of left us alone. On one hand, that can be great because you don’t have to run checks and balances on things, but it’s great as a coach to feel that you’re backed, and I certainly have that feeling here.”
Senior forward Brett Rylance is one of those ex-AIC transfers. With eight goals and 16 points through 14 games, the Edmonton, Alberta, native has been a big reason for LIU turning heads.
“Coming with Riles, hockey-wise it’s been really good because it’s been a really smooth transition,” Rylance said. “I’m really comfortable with the way that he coaches, having been with him for three years at AIC, so I kind of knew what he was going to be all about. School-wise, LIU has a lot more resources, and the guys who have transferred from AIC, we’ve had a great experience with Long Island.
“I knew the travel was going to be a little bit more, but I was honestly really excited to play different programs, and Riles did a really good job making the schedule. We’ve played some really cool schools like Minnesota and Penn State, and at AIC, we were in a conference (Atlantic Hockey) so we played the same teams over and over again, but here, I wasn’t worried about the travel and more excited about visiting all these programs. You look forward to it more than you worry about it.”
Worrying would’ve been more on Riley’s shoulders. After he was named as LIU’s new coach in April, the 29-year-old had to jump right into filling out the Sharks’ calendar. Much of that was put upon him by Tennessee State moving its plans for the Tigers’ inaugural season back a year to 2026-27. That helped bring about three consecutive exhibition games at the end of October, including a weekend set against Maryville’s (Mo.) club team.
“I think I had to add at least 11 games,” Riley said. “All the (games against opponents from) Hockey East were not on the docket yet, and for a lack of a better term, it was a bit of a gong show when I took over. We had Tennessee State for six games, so when that whole domino fell, we lost a lot of games and that’s why we added Maryville, because we didn’t want to miss out on games, then I added a game in Alaska while we’re up there for two weeks, (plus) BU, three with Merrimack, one with (New Hampshire).
“It got a lot better from when I got here, to what it was at the start of the season. I’m starting to try to build it out for the future. That way, it’s not a fire drill every summer and spring to find games, but as an independent, it is challenging, especially late in the year.”
After hosting Connecticut on Jan. 3, LIU’s entire remaining schedule will be against fellow independent teams. Included on that list are three games at Alaska-Anchorage and two at Alaska, all on the same trip at the end of January. The Sharks don’t have many home games after UConn, either. Just two, in fact, Feb. 13-14 against Stonehill.
But hardly playing at home doesn’t seem to bother the Sharks. Even local players, like sophomore defenseman Nick Bernardo, who grew up a 30-minute drive from LIU, are finding themselves plenty comfortable on the road. Season and program-defining victories, like the Sharks’ series opener at Minnesota, have helped.
“Playing these big-time programs, it’s really special and great exposure, as well,” Bernardo said. “Obviously the travel is a bit much, but when you’re playing these programs, you don’t even think about the travel at all, because it’s such a special moment being there.
“When we played Minnesota, it was definitely a special one. It was back and forth before we put the nail in the coffin in the third period. Coming out with that win was really special, and obviously we were going to celebrate that one, but in the locker room, we just focused on the next day.”
Accomplishments like splitting with Golden Gophers on their own patch, and what big things might still be in store for LIU this season, are big for the Sharks on levels that might not apply so much to programs that have conferences to call home.
“It certainly has paid dividends to us now,” Riley said of the Sharks’ start. “We feel like we’ve run the gauntlet and we’ve not only hung with teams, but pushed teams to overtime, won games on the road and we’re pretty close to .500 right now where, if you had told me that sometime in July or August, I’d have said you were probably crazy. It’s a credit to these guys that we’ve out-punched our weight class, but I’m not totally surprised, based on seeing these guys every day in practice.
“Now, we’re getting into a stretch of our schedule where games are a little more scarce and it’s mainly independent teams that we have left. Those are like our league games, so we want to treat them with the utmost importance. I feel really good about what we’ve been able to do so far this year, and I think that’ll allow us to be really successful down the stretch.”
Not losing sight of what has gotten this LIU team to where it is will be hugely important.
“Since we’re independent, playing these big teams is really special, but we have to stick to our systems,” Bernardo said. “We have a new staff and a good amount of new players this year, and they bring great, phenomenal attributes to the team. As a younger guy, looking up to the AIC guys, all of them are leaders and all of our older guys are leaders. Looking up to them and just following in their footsteps really helps a lot.”
Eventually, Riley will be the Sharks’ lone remaining carryover from his previous coaching stop. But while looking too far ahead is a fool’s errand, Riley knows he and his team are in a good place. Riley is quickly building upon what the Sharks’ only prior head coach, cousin Brett Riley, put together before becoming Ferris State’s coach in March, succeeding the legendary Bob Daniels, who was behind the Bulldogs’ bench for 33 years.
“I’m really fortunate because, most of the time, when people take over a program as its new head coach, it’s because somebody got fired, left or got pushed out,” Brendan Riley said. “I was lucky enough to take over a successful program in a great spot. The previous staff did an unbelievable job of building a foundation and having a ton of success without as much resources as we have now, and we’ve been afforded those because of the hard work they put in, and the dues that they paid.
“As far as where we can get to, I honestly believe the sky’s the limit. I’ve played at a different Division I program (Mercyhurst) and worked at a different Division I program, and I can see behind the scenes here that we have enough to be successful. Inside of a league would be great, but we’re proving right now that we don’t need to be in a league to be really good. There’s enough here to be really successful, and it’ll be up to us as a group and a staff to keep putting forth our best product.”