I hope everyone had a safe and happy Holiday season. As we head into the second half of the college hockey season, let’s look back at the first half.
Here are our midterm awards. Will things change before the league names the actual winners in March? Probably. But these are our picks for the first half:
First Team
F Tyler Fukakusa, RIT
F Ethan Leyh, Bentley
F Felix Trudeau, Sacred Heart
D Mikey Adamson, Sacred Heart
D Michael Craig, Robert Morris
G Ajeet Gundarah, Sacred Heart
Second Team
F Liam McLinskey, Holy Cross
F Shane Ott, Niagara
F Matthew Wilde, RIT
D Mac Gadowsky, Army West Point
D Dustin Geregach, Mercyhurst
G Thomas Gale, Holy Cross
Third Team
F Jay Ahearn, Niagara
F Matteo Giampa, Canisius
F Walter Zacher, Robert Morris
D Nick Bochen, Bentley
D Chris Hedden, Air Force
G Pierce Charleson, Niagara
All-Rookie Team
F Oskar Bakkevig, Bentley
F Michael Felsing, Robert Morris
F Trevor Hoskin, Niagara
D Tristan Allen, RIT
D Dominic Elliott, Robert Morris
G JJ Cataldo, Army West Point
Player of the first half: Felix Trudeau, Sacred Heart
Trudeau, a junior transfer from Maine, currently leads the league in goals (11, tied with two other players) and points (23). He’s also third in the league in penalty minutes (38), something to keep an eye on.
Goalie of the first half: Ajeet Gundarah, Sacred Heart
As usual, there are several excellent goalies to choose from including Thomas Gale (Holy Cross), Connor Hasley (Bentley), and Pierce Charleson (Niagara). Two rookies have stood out: JJ Cataldo from Army West Point and our pick, Sacred Heart’s Ajeet Gundarah. Gundarah leads the league in goals allowed per game (2.00) and saves percentage (.926). He’s 9-3-1 with two shutouts for the first-place Pioneers.
Rookie of the first half:Trevor Hoskin, Niagara
Hoskin is one of three NHL draft picks in Atlantic Hockey America, a fourth-round choice by the Calgary Flames. He currently leads all rookies in AHA in points (16) and is ninth nationally in that category.
Coach of the first half: Andy Jones, Bentley
Jones was our pick for Coach of the Year last season, and his team is looking even better this year. Bentley is currently 11-7-2 overall and 9-4-1 in league play. The Falcons are in second place, trailing Sacred Heart by five points, but with four games in hand.
Last season, Jones’ first, the Falcons were picked to finish last and ended up tied for sixth, one point away from a first-round bye. This season, Bentley was picked to finish fifth and currently is in second, but with four games in hand on points leader Sacred Heart.
We have questions
Some burning questions to be answered in the second half:
Will we have a race to the wire?
RIT ran away with the regular season title the past two seasons, but the Tigers are currently in tenth place. Things are shaping up to be a three-team race to the finish between Sacred Heart, Bentley, and Niagara. Those teams are separated by six points in the standings.
Air Force is a dark horse, currently eight points behind third-place Niagara, but has at least two games in hand on all three teams ahead of it in the standings.
What will we see in farewells to AIC and Army coach Brian Riley?
While change is constant in college sports these days, there are two monumental changes ahead in Atlantic Hockey America. AIC will leave the conference at the end of the season and drop down to Division II. I’ve previously shared my thoughts on this sad and tragic turn of events for a program that has come into its own the past few years, going from a cellar-dweller to winning four consecutive regular season titles and three straight playoff titles, only interrupted by the 2020 pandemic.
It will be easy to root for the Yellow Jackets to win it all in “Major League” style.
The same can be said for Army West Point, which next season will have a new coach not named Riley for the first time in 75 years. Brian Riley is stepping down after 21 years at the helm. He was preceded by his brother Rob (1986-2004) and his father Jack (1950-1986).
Riley currently has a 242-359-92 record, with a regular season title in 2008.
While Zack McKelvie is an excellent choice for head coach moving forward, it will be a little strange to not have a Riley behind the Army bench. It would be awesome to see Brian lift the Riley Cup this season, but the Black Knights have a lot to achieve to make that happen.
Will we have a first-time regular season champion?
There are currently two AHA schools that have never won a regular season title: Sacred Heart and Bentley. They currently sit at first and second, respectively, in the standings with a combined 52% chance of a first-place finish, according to Playoffstatus.com.
But while the odds currently favor a first-time champion, there’s a lot of hockey left to be played.
