This Week in Atlantic Hockey: Struggling Robert Morris staying upbeat, aiming to ‘be prepared to do everything that we need to do to be successful’

Robert Morris coach Derek Schooley says that he’s an impatient person, especially when it comes to coaching. Schooley, who has been in charge of the RMU program since its inception in 2004, had to rebuild it after the school eliminated the men’s and women’s teams at the end of the 2020-21 season. It was a … Read more

This Week in Atlantic Hockey: As ‘structure has gotten better,’ Sacred Heart winners of seven of last nine after 0-3-0 start to campaign

“I’m fine. My wife tells me that I’m hard-headed,” reads a text from Sacred Heart coach C.J. Marottolo. The Pioneers’ coach caught a puck to the forehead last Friday in a 4-2 win at Robert Morris. I was watching the game and later texted him to see how he was doing. Marottolo was in good … Read more

This Week in Atlantic Hockey: After splitting with Canisius, Army West Point showing improvement, finding ways to win conference games

It’s been a rough start to the season for Army West Point. Going into last weekend’s series with Canisius, the Black Knights were 0-8 with losses to North Dakota, Union, and Bemidji State as well as to some of Atlantic Hockey’s top teams in Sacred Heart, Rochester Institute of Technology, and archival Air Force. Several … Read more

This Week in Atlantic Hockey: After sweeping Niagara, Bentley looking for ‘extra effort and puck luck’ continuing with season moving forward

Sweeps have traditionally been hard to come by in Atlantic Hockey. Before this past week, there was just one so far this season. But we had four last weekend, including Bentley’s pair of regulation wins against Niagara. Friday’s 6-2 victory featured a hat-trick from A.J. Hodges and a pair of goals from Josh Latta. Saturday … Read more

This Week in Atlantic Hockey: Longtime Mercyhurst coach Gotkin on cusp of 600 wins, says achievement would be ‘a program milestone’

When Mercyhurst defeated Bowling Green 4-3 in overtime last Friday, the school posted on X (formerly Twitter) that the victory was the 600th of coach Rick Gotkin’s career. It turns out that after further review, it was “only” his 599th. “There was a typo on my record,” said Gotkin. “But it doesn’t matter to me. … Read more

This Week in Atlantic Hockey: Intense weekend RIT-Holy Cross series proving ‘everything so close in this league’

There’s a cliche that says that “games in October are as important as games in March.” Of course, each game is always worth three points, but it often feels like contests late in the season carry more intensity compared to ones played early. That wasn’t the case last weekend when Holy Cross hosted Rochester Institute … Read more

This Week in Atlantic Hockey: After upsetting Penn State, American International aiming to ‘want and need results’ going forward

American International has been on the wrong end of three close games to open their 2023-24 campaign — and one not so close — but last weekend, the Yellow Jackets flipped the script, picking up their first win of this young season. Eric Lang’s team opened with a 5-3 loss to Massachusetts that saw AIC … Read more

This Week in Atlantic Hockey: Holy Cross finding ‘belief in ourselves,’ early-season momentum with 3-0 start

Under coach Bill Riga, Holy Cross has seen an upward trajectory. The 2021-22 season, Riga’s first at the helm, ended in a last-place finish and a 12-23-2 record. Last season, the Crusaders were picked to again finish last, but got on a roll in the second half of the season and really caught fire in … Read more

Monday 10: UNH downs No. 1 BU, second-ranked Minnesota earns sweep, Augustana secures program firsts, Holy Cross out to 3-0 start

Each week, USCHO.com will pick the top 10 moments from the past weekend in our Monday 10 feature. 1. Down goes No. 1 After the season’s second weekend of play, we might see a new team atop the USCHO Division I Men’s Hockey Poll. Top-ranked Boston University, which needed overtime to defeat Bentley last week, … Read more

2023-24 Atlantic Hockey Season Preview: Robert Morris back in fold as conference finding ‘opportunities to better tell our stories’

As Atlantic Hockey kicks off its 21st season, more changes are in store. Robert Morris returns after a two-year absence, restoring the number of programs to 11. This means a new scheduling plan as well as a new playoff format. There are also changes in administration, with a new commissioner and a new supervisor of … Read more

Previewing the 2023 NCAA hockey tournament, Fargo Regional: Minnesota, St. Cloud State, Minnesota State, Canisius

FARGO REGIONAL When: Thursday, March 23 & Saturday, March 25 Where: Scheels Arena, Fargo, N.D. Matchups (all times Eastern): St. Cloud State vs. Minnesota State, March 23, 5 p.m., ESPNU; Minnesota vs. Canisius, March 23, 9 p.m., ESPN2; championship, March 25, 6:30 p.m., ESPNU 1. MINNESOTA How they got here: At-large bid Overall season record: … Read more

Canisius shuts out Holy Cross 3-0 to claim Atlantic Hockey championship, automatic bid to NCAA tournament

BUFFALO, N.Y. – Nick Bowman’s goal at 17:59 of the second period and Jacob Barczewski’s 24-save shutout were the difference as Canisius defeated Holy Cross 3-0 for its second Atlantic Hockey championship. The Golden Griffins tacked on a pair of empty-net goals in the final minutes to seal the victory. “Down the stretch, the second … Read more

This Week in Atlantic Hockey: Canisius, Holy Cross gearing up for winner-take-all conference title game Saturday with NCAA tournament berth on line

For the last 17 years that I have been covering Atlantic Hockey for USCHO, this final column of the season has looked forward to a championship weekend that involved four teams converging on a single, neutral location. Things have changed. The new format adopted by the league this season creates a one-game, winner-takes-all championship, hosted … Read more

This Week in Atlantic Hockey: Down to final four in conference postseason with semifinals on tap this weekend

And then there were four in the quest for the Riley Cup. Last weekend’s Atlantic Hockey quarterfinals saw three of the four series go the distance, with two lower seeds advancing: – Rochester Institute of Technology swept Mercyhurst in a pair of tight games. The Tigers got the game-winner from Adam Jeffery on Friday with … Read more