Chris Lerch

Chris Lerch has been writing for USCHO since 1999, first as D-III columnist, then covering Atlantic Hockey for the past 24 seasons.

Monday 10: Michigan, Michigan State split latest rivalry series, Army West Point sweeps Air Force for first time at home since 2008, Arizona State moves into first place in NCHC

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Each week, USCHO.com will pick the top 10 moments from the past weekend in our Monday 10 feature. 1. Michigan and Michigan State split home-and-home series Fans went home happy as the top-ranked Spartans and No. 10 Wolverines each won in front of their home crowds. In Friday’s 3-2 overtime win, Michigan was able to … Read more

This Week in Atlantic Hockey America: Confidence boost after weekend of goal scoring has Army West Point primed for Air Force series this weekend

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Scoring goals has been a challenge for Army West Point this season. Before last weekend, the Black Knights (7-15-0) were averaging 1.65 goals a game, and hadn’t scored more than two in a contest since a 5-3 loss to Holy Cross on Nov. 22. Brian Riley’s team came into last weekend’s series with Mercyhurst having … Read more

This Week in Atlantic Hockey America: Buy, sell or hold – predicting what each conference team should aim to do with second half of ’24-25 season looming

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While it often seems like the 2024-25 season just got underway, we’re already at the halfway point, with roughly 47% of Atlantic Hockey America’s conference schedule completed. That’s a decent enough sample to look at where all 11 teams stand. My friends at the USCHO Weekend Review podcast have an exercise called “Buy or Sell,” … Read more

This Week in Atlantic Hockey America: ‘Any win at this point is good’ for struggling RIT team ‘still figuring some things out,’ dealing with turnover, injuries

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The first half of the 2024-25 season has not been kind to Rochester Institute of Technology. Nearing the holiday break, the Tigers find themselves in an unfamiliar position —- near the bottom of the Atlantic Hockey America standings. RIT has won the regular-season title the past two seasons and a playoff championship last year. But … Read more

This Week in Atlantic Hockey America: Scoring touch, lockdown defense coming to life as Holy Cross finding ways to build winning streak

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We’re past Thanksgiving, which means it’s OK to start looking at the PairWise rankings. At least that’s what my friends say. Here’s some early analysis from the USCHO Weekend Review podcast as well as our Tuesday Morning Quarterback column. If you follow Atlantic Hockey America, one quick peek is all you need. The highest-ranked AHA … Read more

This Week in Atlantic Hockey America: Conference teams have much to be thankful for with Thanksgiving holiday fast approaching

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It’s an old sports writing cliche, but at this time of the season, you’ll often see stories listing what teams have to be thankful for so far. Guilty as charged. I’m offering a slight variation – here’s a player on each Atlantic Hockey America team whose play inspires gratitude from coaches, players, and fans, at … Read more

This Week in Atlantic Hockey America: Downgrading American International program bad for college itself, bad for college hockey

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Last Tuesday, word began spreading that American International was downgrading its men’s hockey program to Division II at the end of this season. Yellow Jackets coach Eric Lang confirmed it to me in a text and later issued the following statement to social media: AIC has been the place I've called my home for over … Read more

This Week in Atlantic Hockey America: While still inconsistent to date, Sacred Heart finding success with roster of freshmen, transfers, returning players

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While Sacred Heart was the consensus pick to finish first in Atlantic Hockey this season, coach CJ Marottolo, in his 16th year behind the Pioneers bench, knows his team is a work in progress. His roster includes seven rookies as well as nine transfers, and it will take some time to gel. After a split … Read more

Monday 10: Top-ranked Denver off to 10-0-0 start, Boston College sweeps Maine, Dartmouth stays hot, Alaska keeps picking up points

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Each week, USCHO.com will pick the top 10 moments from the past weekend in our Monday 10 feature. 1. Sweeps abound; Denver stays unbeaten League play began in earnest this weekend with only six non-conference games played compared to 22 last weekend. Of the 24 series played this past weekend, 16 ended in sweeps, including … Read more

This Week in Atlantic Hockey America: Veteran leadership leading the way as fifth-year players taking charge at Bentley

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Last season was the first for Andy Jones behind the bench at Bentley. Jones, who was appointed in late June of 2023, didn’t have a lot of time to get to know his team well and inherited a recruiting class put together by the departing Ryan Soderquist. The Falcons were picked to finish in last … Read more

This Week in Atlantic Hockey: Niagara ‘building something special’ as Purple Eagles boast an optimistic ‘eclectic group that learns from each other’

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Parity continues to reign in Atlantic Hockey America. Ask any coach about the league and they’ll tell you one of its strengths is that the margin between the top and bottom is small. To date, there have been six conference series, with four resulting in splits, and two more that featured one team getting four … Read more

This Week in Atlantic Hockey: Robert Morris opens ’24-25 season sweeping Miami, knows ‘every game is a different challenge for a young team‘

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Last season was version 2.0 of the Robert Morris men’s and women’s hockey teams. Both had to start from almost scratch after the programs were canceled in 2021 but revived for the 2023-24 season. Most of RMU’s players transferred out after the program was shuttered, requiring coach Derek Schooley, in his 20th season at RMU, … Read more

This Week in Atlantic Hockey: Air Force loses opener to Arizona State, rebounds with ‘magical’ game to split with Sun Devils as Blessing stands tall in goal

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It was a tale of two games for Air Force last weekend. On Friday, the Falcons opened their season with an 8-1 loss on home ice to 20th-ranked Arizona State. Nothing went right for coach Frank Serratore’s team, which allowed three short-handed breakaway goals in the loss. The Sun Devils tacked on a pair of … Read more

Atlantic Hockey America 2024-25 Men’s Hockey Season Preview: New name, same goals for rebranded conference heading into new campaign

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The offseason is becoming a thing of the past for most sports, with lots of activity despite no games being played. This was the case with Atlantic Hockey America, which was busy this summer combining Atlantic Hockey (men) and College Hockey America (women) into a single hockey-only conference, Atlantic Hockey America. Michelle Morgan, in her … Read more