Chris LerchClose Call We’ve heard it all year from the coaches of Atlantic Hockey — for several years actually. The parity in the league. How close the games are. How close in talent the teams are. On how any given night, anybody can beat anybody. All coaches tend to say these things. But in the AHA, … Read more
Getting Better All the Time Things are looking up in Springfield. AIC pulled off its first conference sweep in almost two years last weekend, defeating Canisius 3-1 and 4-2. It took 13 games last season for the Yellow Jackets to get their first point; they already have five this season and are just two points … Read more
It’s that time of year again – Thanksgiving Tournaments! It’s a little disappointing that there are no tournaments in the West this year (Augsburg and MSOE hosted ones last season). Oldtimers like me miss the MIAC tournament that used to kick off their season. Let’s take a look at the seven tourneys on tap: Primelink … Read more
It’s that time of year again – Thanksgiving Tournaments! It’s a little disappointing that there are no tournaments in the West this year (Augsburg and MSOE hosted ones last season). Oldtimers like me miss the MIAC tournament that used to kick off their season. Let’s take a look at the seven tourneys on tap: Primelink … Read more
Finally, finally finally, everyone is in the game as the NESCAC and ECAC East begin play. Some intriguing matchups are on the docket: Middlebury at Conn College – The first time in four seasons that the Panthers don’t start the season as the defending champs, but look at the poll – they’re Number One right … Read more
Finally, finally finally, everyone is in the game as the NESCAC and ECAC East begin play. Some intriguing matchups are on the docket: Middlebury at Conn College – The first time in four seasons that the Panthers don’t start the season as the defending champs, but look at the poll – they’re Number One right … Read more
Splitsville There have been 12 weekend series so far this season in Atlantic Hockey, and in all but two, both teams have come away with points. Seven series have ended in splits, with the other three resulting in one team taking three points in the two games. “You have to take points every weekend to … Read more
Not a Cliché Coaches in Atlantic Hockey constantly talk about the balance in their league — how “on any given night …”. Well, we’re barely into the season, with each team playing anywhere from two to five league games, and everybody already has at least one loss in league play. “Every team has good goaltending … Read more
A new season brings new changes. New programs, new coaches, new chances for every team and player. Like last season, this blog will complement the excellent job done by our league correspondents. Over the summer, on the D-III section of the Fan Forum, a user wanted to know what people could change about D-III hockey. … Read more
A new season brings new changes. New programs, new coaches, new chances for every team and player. Like last season, this blog will complement the excellent job done by our league correspondents. Over the summer, on the D-III section of the Fan Forum, a user wanted to know what people could change about D-III hockey. … Read more
Big Orange There were a lot of unknowns coming into last Saturday’s game between RIT and Cornell at Rochester’s Blue Cross Arena. The Tigers were 0-2, coming of a disappointing home opener and facing a ranked opponent. Cornell was playing its first official game of the season. And for the Tigers, playing in that building … Read more
Flying High In its opening weekend, Atlantic Hockey went 0-9-1 in non-conference play. This past weekend, AHA teams were a more respectable 4-9 if you count Canisius’ exhibition win over Manitoba in the consolation game of the Maverick Stampede tournament. Teams again came close in other contests, with Sacred Heart losing 1-0 in overtime at … Read more
Moral Victories … … are usually still losses. Or in the case of Canisius’ rally against St. Cloud last Saturday, a tie. At the beginning of this season, commissioner Bob DeGregorio and several coaches told me that the time for moral victories — coming close against teams from the “Big Four” conferences — was over, … Read more
The new kids on the block ruled in Atlantic Hockey last year, with RIT claiming the regular-season title and Air Force winning the playoff crown and representing the league well in a 4-3 loss to Minnesota in the NCAAs. “We weren’t fortunate enough to make it to Rochester last season,” said Holy Cross coach Paul … Read more
The bad news for the Golden Griffins last season was that they won only nine games and lost in the play-in game in the Atlantic Hockey playoffs. The good news is that the freshman-dominated lineup played a lot of minutes, which will only make them better coming into this season. Coach Dave Smith is continuing … Read more
Sacred Heart won 21 games for the second straight season, and the result was the same as well — coming up short in the postseason. Still, you have to be pleased with a season like the Pioneers had. Coach Shaun Hannah has mixed feelings. “We played as hard and as well as we could,” he … Read more
Last year, the preseason coaches’ poll put the Huskies in fourth, surprising some people. But lo and behold, that’s where UConn did indeed finish, earning home ice in the playoffs and a trip to Rochester. “We’d had a tough season (in 2005-06) and lost 12 games in a row at the end,” said coach Bruce … Read more
Mercyhurst coach Rick Gotkin was surprised when his team was picked to finish first in the 2006-07 preseason poll. But while he didn’t necessarily think he had the best team in Atlantic Hockey, he didn’t foresee a team that had won 22 games the year before chalk up just nine victories last season. “I’m not … Read more
Expectations were low for Army coming into last season. All-star goaltender Brad Roberts was gone and the Black Knights, never known as an offensive powerhouse, were expected to finish ninth in a 10-team league. Instead, Army found a more-than capable replacement between the pipes in Josh Kassel (2.38 GAA) and some firepower from Luke Flicek … Read more
The Tigers surprised everyone last year, possibly including themselves. “We knew we could compete; we didn’t know if we could win right away, and I guess that was answered,” said coach Wayne Wilson. “Not just Atlantic Hockey. We knew we could compete with anybody.” After a 6-22-2 season as an independent when they lost ten … Read more