Mercyhurst wasn’t getting a lot of puck luck earlier in the season. Coach Rick Gotkin, in his 35th season behind the Lakers’ bench, felt that his squad was better than its 1-9-2 record indicated. “I think that our early record said as much about our opponents as it did about us,” he said. “We played … Read more
It’s been a strange couple of years for Robert Morris coach Derek Schooley. On May 26, 2021, with no warning, RMU’s president and board announced that effective immediately, it was canceling their men’s and women’s hockey programs. Coaches, players, alumni, and fans were in shock. But quickly, Schooley helped lead a massive effort to restore … Read more
The Ice Breaker Tournament, the traditional start to the NCAA Division I men’s hockey season, will be co-hosted by Bemidji State and North Dakota in 2023-24, it was announced jointly this week by the host schools and College Hockey Inc. Army West Point and Wisconsin will also participate in the event, scheduled for Oct. 13-14 … Read more
Niagara announced Thursday that Saturday’s home non-conference game with St. Lawrence has been postponed due to inclement weather. The game has been rescheduled for Thursday, Jan. 5, 2023 at Dwyer Arena. The start time for that game is to be determined.
For a league where sweeps have historically been hard to come by and splits are the norm, so far this season it’s been feast or famine in conference series in Atlantic Hockey. There have been 15 conference series so far, with nine ending in sweeps. Another three series saw one team take five of six … Read more
I had the chance recently to talk to Pierre-Luc O’Brien, who starred for Sacred Heart from 2004 to 2008. O’Brien was a three-time Atlantic Hockey all-star as well as a Hobey Baker finalist. He holds the school’s record for career points (156). When asked about his favorite college hockey memory, O’Brien related the “Miracle at … Read more
Rochester Institute of Technology has opened the 2022-23 season 6-2-0, its best start in four years. While there are several reasons for the strong start, one number sticks out. The Tiger power play is clicking at 33.3 percent, tied for third nationally and double the 16.2 percent rate for RIT last season. And while Wayne … Read more
It was mostly splitsville in Atlantic Hockey last week, with both conference series (Rochester Institute of Technology at Air Force and Sacred Heart at Niagara) ending in splits. In each case, the home team won the first game, with the visitors coming back the next day to get their three points. Mercyhurst and Clarkson also … Read more
Bentley, like many Atlantic Hockey schools, expects to feel some growing pains early in the season. It will take time to gel with 13 new players on the roster. The Falcons took a big step last Saturday, defeating Maine 5-1 at Bentley Arena in front of a packed house. The impact of new players was … Read more
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
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
Four-time defending regular-season champion American International is the winner of the 2022-23 Atlantic Hockey preseason coaches poll, which was released Tuesday. The Yellow Jackets garnered eight of nine possible first-place votes in balloting among AHA head coaches (coaches could not vote for their own teams) for 88 points to outdistance second-place Sacred Heart, which received … Read more
Ben Murphy has returned to the Bentley coaching staff as associate head coach, while Gudge Gentzler has been hired for the new director of hockey operations position. Murphy was previously an assistant coach at Bentley from the 2009 to 2019. He was an assistant coach at St. Lawrence for the last three seasons. Murphy played … Read more
Ryan Durocher has been named the director of hockey operations at Colorado College. Durocher comes to Colorado Springs after serving as an assistant coach at Sacred Heart during the 2021-22 season. “I am excited that Ryan will be joining our staff,” Tigers head coach Kris Mayotte said in a statement. “We are fortunate to have … Read more
Army West Point has announced the addition of Jack Riley to the hockey staff as the director of hockey operations ahead of the 2022-23 season. Riley, a Hobey Baker nominee and Atlantic Hockey all-conference selection during his playing career at Mercyhurst, joins the Black Knights after most recently serving as an assistant coach at Albertus … Read more
Niagara has announced the addition of Nate Skidmore to the Purple Eagles’ staff for the 2022-23 season. Last season, Skidmore was the assistant coach at Williams. “We are excited to welcome Nate to our uncommon family,” said Niagara coach Jason Lammers in a statement. “He has a tremendous drive to be on the road recruiting … Read more
Colorado Springs native Josh Holmstrom has been named the director of hockey operations at Air Force. Holmstrom comes to the academy after serving as the head coach of the EHL’s Walpole Express. “We are very excited to have Josh Holmstrom joining our staff,” Falcons head coach Frank Serratore said in a statement. “Josh is a … Read more
The AHL’s Bakersfield Condors announced Wednesday that Kris Horn is the team’s new video coordinator. Horn joins the Condors from Army West Point where he had been the director of hockey operations since 2018. He was previously an assistant coach at Brockport (2016-18), a volunteer assistant coach at Union (2015-16), and an assistant coach at … Read more
John Lidgett, an assistant hockey coach at Niagara and a former Division I player at Colgate, has been named an assistant coach at Colorado College. Lidgett, who will replace Mark Stuart, spent the last two seasons on the Niagara bench working for former CC assistant Jason Lammers. Prior to that, he was an assistant under … Read more
Mercyhurst men’s hockey head coach Rick Gotkin has announced the hiring of Tom Peffall as an assistant coach.