This Week in Atlantic Hockey: Niagara combining timely scoring, goaltending into early-season success to start ’22-23

Heading into this season and every season for the past decade, hope springs eternal for Atlantic Hockey to get more than its playoff champion into the NCAA tournament. That will require a team to have a strong enough record to not need the automatic qualifier awarded to the playoff champion. It also requires a strong, … Read more

Atlantic Hockey 2022-23 Season Preview: Complacency not an issue for any teams as conference finds itself focused on new season

It’s difficult to predict what will happen in a college hockey season, but coaches and journalists try, issuing preseason polls and predictions at this time of year. It’s a difficult and usually futile effort, especially when it comes to Atlantic Hockey. Air Force coach Frank Serratore should know. His Falcons were picked ninth in last … Read more

Previewing the 2022 NCAA hockey tournament, Allentown Regional: Michigan, Quinnipiac, St. Cloud State, American International

ALLENTOWN REGIONAL When: Friday, March 25 & Sunday, March 27 Where: PPL Center, Allentown, Pa. Matchups: Michigan vs. American International, March 25, 3 p.m., ESPNU; Quinnipiac vs. St. Cloud State, March 25, 8 p.m., ESPNews; championship, March 27, 4 p.m./6:30 p.m., ESPN2 1. MICHIGAN How they got here: Won Big Ten tournament championship Overall season … Read more

AIC blanks Air Force for third straight Atlantic Hockey tournament title as five different players score to back Calvaruso’s shutout in net

Neither Air Force coach Frank Serratore (7-0) or American International coach Eric Lang (2-0) had lost an Atlantic Hockey championship game. Something had to give. It was Lang’s Yellow Jackets that came out on top 7-0, thanks to goals by five different players and an 18-save shutout by goaltender Alec Calvaruso. “I’ve been here a … Read more

Air Force off to Atlantic Hockey championship game after one-goal victory over RIT in conference semifinals

Frank Serratore has seen a lot of glory in his 25 seasons behind the Air Force bench. Those accolades include seven conference titles in addition to a 14-2 record in the Atlantic Hockey final four coming into tonight’s semifinal with Rochester Institute of Technology. But after dispatching Army West Point in this year’s Atlantic Hockey … Read more

Behind three-goal performance from Bennett, AIC edges Mercyhurst in Atlantic Hockey semifinal

Good things have come in threes lately for Blake Bennett, and American International hopes that continues. Bennett’s hat trick, his second in as many games, led AIC to a 5-4 win over Mercyhurst. The Yellow Jackets (21-12-3) are a game away from their third consecutive Atlantic Hockey playoff title. “It was an entertaining college hockey … Read more

This Week in Atlantic Hockey: Three games, four teams, one dream with conference title at stake this weekend in Utica

And then there were four. The Atlantic Hockey tournament quarterfinal round had its fair share of drama and upsets, with two favorites and two underdogs advancing to Utica. Four of the nine games played last weekend went to overtime, including three of four on Friday. – Air Force kept its streak of postseason wins against … Read more

This Week in Atlantic Hockey: With conference playoffs down to eight teams, battle for NCAA tournament autobid heating up this weekend

The opening round of the Atlantic Hockey tournament consisted of a pair of sweeps, one by the favorites and one by an underdog. At Mercyhurst, the story was Lakers goaltender Kyle McClellan who stopped 74 of 76 Holy Cross shots he faced in a pair of 2-1 wins. At Niagara, Bentley got a pair of … Read more

This Week in Atlantic Hockey: Previewing the opening round of AHA conference tournament

When the dust settled on the 2021-22 Atlantic Hockey regular season, we were left with the following seedings for the upcoming AHA tournament: 1. American International 2. Canisius 3. Army West Point 4. Rochester Institute of Technology 5. Sacred Heart 6. Air Force 7. Mercyhurst 8. Niagara 9. Bentley 10. Holy Cross Army West Point … Read more

This Week in Atlantic Hockey: Conference standings still in state of flux with last regular-season weekend on tap

With one weekend left in the regular season in Atlantic Hockey, it’s down to the wire with eight of the 10 playoffs spots still to be determined. The top six teams in the standings will get a first-round bye. The top four will host quarterfinal series beginning March 11. Seeds seven through 10 will pair … Read more

This Week in Atlantic Hockey: Holy Cross finding win column as ‘plan and vision that our staff put together hasn’t changed’ under first-year coach Riga

When we last checked in on first-year Holy Cross coach Bill Riga, he was chalking up his first win as a head coach. The first part of the season was full of growing pains for the Crusaders, whose record at Christmas was 4-13-1. Since then, Holy Cross is 6-6-1, including 4-1 in its last five … Read more

Monday 10: Denver finally loses on home ice, AIC close to Atlantic Hockey title, Alaska on 10-4-1 run, Beanpot final tonight

Each week during the season, USCHO.com will pick the top 10 moments from the past weekend in our Monday 10 feature. 1. Denver’s streaks come to an end Minnesota Duluth defeated host Denver 3-2 on Saturday, handing the Pioneers their first loss on home ice this season and ending their nine-game winning streak. Bulldogs sophomore … Read more

This Week in Atlantic Hockey: With ‘a relentless expectation to do well against them,’ Niagara gearing up for weekend rivalry series with Canisius

When Jason Lammers took the head coaching job at Niagara in 2017, it didn’t take him long to appreciate the school’s long-standing rivalry with Canisius. “It took about one minute,” said Lammers. “In the interview process, it was made clear that we had not had a lot of success lately against the team south of … Read more

This Week in Atlantic Hockey: Consistent Canisius squad making late-season run by ‘trying to be in the present’

Looking at Canisius’ season to date, the word that comes to mind is “consistency.” The Golden Griffins (12-10-3) have taken points in every Atlantic Hockey series they’ve played so far, which puts them in a tie for third place, trailing Bentley by a point and first-place American International by 11 with eight games to go. … Read more