Robert Morris announces reinstatement of men’s, women’s college hockey teams for 2023-24 season

Robert Morris announced Friday at a press conference at the RMU Island Sports Center that it will reinstate its NCAA Division I men’s and women’s hockey programs for the 2023-24 season. “Given the passion and enthusiasm of the hockey community, we wanted to give the fans of RMU hockey every opportunity to bring the programs … Read more

This Week in Atlantic Hockey: Taking stock of the conference at the 2021-22 midseason break

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

Atlantic Hockey ‘will present a great hockey atmosphere’ with 2022 championship tournament at Utica’s Adirondack Bank Center

Atlantic Hockey and the city of Utica, N.Y., announced Thursday that it will hold its 2022 Atlantic Hockey championship tournament March 18-19, 2022 at the Adirondack Bank Center at the Utica Memorial Auditorium. The facility is a 3,915 -seat multi-purpose arena and is the home arena of the AHL’s Utica Comets, Utica College men’s and … Read more

This Week in Atlantic Hockey: Air Force ‘feeling good about ourselves,’ ends fall semester on high note

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

Air Force, Denver to co-host 2022 Ice Breaker Tournament; event to feature two host schools for first time in history

Air Force and Denver will co-host the Ice Breaker Tournament, slated for Oct. 7-8, 2022, at the Cadet Ice Arena in Colorado Springs and Magness Arena in Denver. The Ice Breaker Tournament, the traditional start to the college hockey season, will also include Maine and Notre Dame. The Ice Breaker Tournament, which began in 1997 … Read more

This Week in Atlantic Hockey: Half-dozen conference newcomers making their mark during early part of ’21-22 season

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

This Week in Atlantic Hockey: Niagara steps out of conference play, faces tough challenge this weekend at Michigan

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

Canisius adding former hockey standout Conacher to school’s sports hall of fame as part of 2022 class

Canisius announced Tuesday that 2011 graduate Cory Conacher has been selected as part of the 58th induction class to the Canisius College Sports Hall of Fame. The 2009-10 Atlantic Hockey Player of the Year, Conacher rewrote the Canisius Division I era record book, establishing 12 single-game and career marks during his time on Main Street. … Read more

Robert Morris celebrity hockey game generates momentum for ‘Hockey is the Goal’ campaign with eye on reinstating men’s, women’s teams

The RMU Celebrity Hockey Faceoff, the recent charity hockey game that featured RMU hockey alums facing off against Pittsburgh Penguins alums and Pittsburgh celebrities on November 7, was a great success. The game featured a sold-out crowd at the UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex, practice rink of the Penguins. The RMU alums won 12-11 in a … Read more

This Week in Atlantic Hockey: With 13 of first 15 games away from home, Sacred Heart squad proving to be early-season road warriors

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

This Week in Atlantic Hockey: American International benefiting from tough early schedule at start of ’21-22 season

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

HCA names Omaha’s Ward, Army West Point’s Abric, Ohio State’s Dobeš national men’s college hockey players of the month

The Hockey Commissioners Association announced Wednesday it has selected Omaha forward Taylor Ward as the player of the month, Army West Point’s Gavin Abric as goaltender of the month and Ohio State netminder Jakub Dobeš rookie of the month for October 2021. Ward scored 10 goals in October, leading the nation in that category. He … Read more

This Week in Atlantic Hockey: RIT seeing marked improvement early in 2021-22 season, but ‘still evolving’

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

Robert Morris to host celebrity hockey game and silent auction, largest single fundraiser to help save men’s, women’s programs to date

The Robert Morris Department of Athletics in partnership with the Pittsburgh College Hockey Foundation, it will host the first-ever RMU Celebrity Hockey Faceoff and silent auction this coming Sunday, Nov. 7, at the UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex in Cranberry Township, Pa. The exhibition game and fundraising event will feature some of Pittsburgh’s most high-profile celebrities … Read more

This Week in Atlantic Hockey: Holy Cross notches first win of the season, first for new coach Riga

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

This Week in Atlantic Hockey: Transfers already making a difference for conference teams in early going of ’21-22 season

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

Canisius’ DiGrande gets one-game suspension from Atlantic Hockey for elbowing penalty against RPI

Atlantic Hockey announced Saturday a one-game suspension for Canisius junior forward Daniel DiGrande, effective for the Golden Griffins’ next game. The suspension is a result of DiGrande’s five-minute major penalty and game misconduct for elbowing, which occurred at the 18:00 minute mark of the first period in Canisius’ game on Friday, Oct. 15 at Rensselaer. … Read more

This Week in Atlantic Hockey: The almighty transfer portal and rise of the super-senior

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

Atlantic Hockey 2021-22 Season Preview: Conference parity a strong suit as teams look to get back to normal in ’21-22

At the Atlantic Hockey media day last week, the word “normal” kept coming up in conversations with the league’s coaches. We’re not there yet, but hopefully moving in the right direction as the 2021-22 season gets underway. Teams are back to most of their pre-pandemic routines, but this offseason, while not as bizarre as the … Read more