Chris Lerch
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
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
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
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
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
Rochester Institute of Technology coach Wayne Wilson got some good news on Saturday, when the NCAA Division III membership passed a resolution to allow multi-divisional institutions, including RIT and Union, to offer scholarships for their men’s and women’s hockey programs. The schools had been competing in Division I without the benefit of scholarships since 2005 … Read more
With just over 50 percent (54.6 percent to be exact) of the Atlantic Hockey schedule in the books, and nonconference play completed (with the exception of Sacred Heart defending its Connecticut Ice title on Jan. 29-30), it’s now a sprint to the finish. How’s the race shaping up? If you aren’t a subscriber to the … Read more
There’s a saying in sports (and life): “You get what you deserve”. In hockey, that means points in the standings after a hard-fought victory, as well as a loss resulting from a disappointing effort. But there’s another saying: “Life isn’t fair.” Sometimes, you have the effort and the correct game plan, but the puck doesn’t … Read more
If there’s a downside of having an All-American goaltender, it’s that your other goalies might not get many chances to develop their in-game skills. That was the case last season for Army West Point, which rode Trevin Kozlowski to a second-place finish in Atlantic Hockey. The senior played 20 out of 23 games last season … Read more
It hasn’t quite been a return to normal in college hockey this season, because “normal” has been difficult to define. But Atlantic Hockey has managed to play every league game scheduled, in front of fans, so that’s something to be grateful for. Let’s take a look at where things stand at roughly the halfway point … Read more
Air Force coach Frank Serratore knows his team is a work in progress. He pointed out at the beginning of his season that the Falcons were one of, if not the youngest team in Division I, with 17 underclassmen on the roster and just one senior. And that’s in a year where most teams are … Read more
Thanksgiving marks the unofficial end of the “early” part of the college hockey season, and it’s at this point that we usually look at freshmen who have made a big impact for their teams and the league in general. But this year is unique, at least in terms of rookies. About a dozen players in … Read more
Each week, USCHO.com will pick the top 10 moments from the past weekend in our Monday 10 feature. 1. No. 1 goes down … again Four the third consecutive week, the team atop the USCHO Division I poll suffered a loss. On Friday, Lake Superior State outlasted top-ranked Minnesota State 1-0. The Mavericks’ All-American goaltender … Read more
Niagara is not shying away from stiff competition. The Purple Eagles’ nonconference schedule is shaping up to be the most difficult in Atlantic Hockey: Two games at North Dakota Two games at Penn State Two games at Michigan Two games at Notre Dame American International’s non-league schedule comes close (Quinnipiac, UMass, Providence), but at least … Read more
Sacred Heart opened the 2021-22 season with five straight road games before the Pioneers played their first homestand of the season Oct. 29-30 at Webster Bank Arena, a split with Niagara. Then it was back on the road for C.J. Marottolo’s team, which won’t play another home game until 2022 – January 1 to be … Read more
When discussing American International, his opponent last weekend, Rochester Institute of Technology coach Wayne Wilson referred to the Yellow Jackets as “battle tested.” AIC is just nine games into the 2021-22 campaign but has already squared off with No. 12 Providence, No. 9 Massachusetts (twice), No. 5 Quinnipiac (twice) as well as series against Army … Read more
At 4-2-2, Rochester Institute of Technology is off to a strong start. The only Atlantic Hockey team currently over .500 overall, the Tigers sit atop the Atlantic Hockey standings, three points ahead of Mercyhurst. RIT took five of six points from the Lakers at home last weekend. While head coach Wayne Wilson isn’t completely satisfied … Read more
New Holy Cross coach Bill Riga is a rookie in a league known for coaching longevity. The average tenure for an Atlantic Hockey coach is currently 15 seasons, and the last change was the addition of Canisius’ Trevor Large and Niagara’s Jason Lammers five years ago. It’s the first collegiate head coaching stint for Riga, … Read more
The new NCAA rule allowing transferring players a one-time exemption from having to sit out a year has had a sweeping impact on college hockey this season. When combined with an extra year of eligibility due to COVID-19, we saw an unprecedented number of players changing teams this past offseason. At one time, there were … Read more
Depending on who you talk to, the new NCAA rules around player movement, the ability to transfer and play immediately plus the extra year of eligibility players have been given due to the pandemic, are making things better…or in some cases, worse for college hockey. Players now have more choice and control over their college … Read more