The top seeds advanced in the first round of the Atlantic Hockey America tournament, but not without some drama. Two of the three games needed overtime, and the other was a one-goal game until midway through the final period. The weekend’s highlight was a classic battle between Air Force and Robert Morris at Cadet Ice … Read more
When the dust settled on the 2024-25 Atlantic Hockey America regular season, no tiebreakers were necessary to determine the playoff seedings: 1. Holy Cross 2. Sacred Heart 3. Bentley 4. Niagara 5. Army West Point 6. Canisius 7. Air Force 8. American International 9. Rochester Institute of Technology 10. Robert Morris 11. Mercyhurst That means … Read more
It’s hard to believe, but we’re entering the final weekend of the regular season in Atlantic Hockey America. Well, there’s one extra game to be played on Monday, Feb. 24 – more about that later. The format is as follows: First Round, March 1 Single elimination No. 11 seed at No. 6 seed No. 10 … Read more
The Hockey Commissioners Association has announced the semifinalists for this year’s Mike Richter Award, given annually to the top goalie in men’s NCAA Division I hockey since 2014. Ten goaltenders have been chosen by a panel of voters from across the hockey community. The panel includes coaches from each conference as well as members of … Read more
Growing up in a hockey family presents challenges and opportunities. For Army West Point defenseman Mac Gadowsky, hockey was always there, but the sophomore never felt pressure to play. “Ever since I could remember, it’s something I wanted to do,” said Gadowsky. “When I was a kid, it was NHL highlights in the morning and … Read more
The Hockey Commissioners Association has announced its men’s hockey monthly award winners for Jan. 2025. The three co-players of the month are Army West Point sophomore defenseman Mac Gadowsky, Arizona State senior forward Ryan Kirwan and Minnesota junior forward Jimmy Snuggerud, rookie of the month is Michigan Tech goaltender Ryan Manzella, and co-goaltenders of the … Read more
Like a lot of hockey players, Holy Cross senior forward Liam McLinskey’s journey to conference MVP and All-American wasn’t a straight line. After two seasons of junior hockey with the Jersey Hitmen of the NCDC where he put up 119 points in 94 games, McLinskey was recruited by Quinnipiac and entered his freshman year in … Read more
The Gridiron Club of Greater Boston has announced that 26 players are semifinalists for the 72nd Walter Brown Award, presented annually to the best American-born Division I college hockey player in New England. The nation’s oldest nationally-recognized college hockey honor, the Walter Brown Award was established in 1953 by the members of the 1933 Massachusetts … Read more
Canisius has flown under the radar most of this season. Trevor Large’s team has at least one game in hand on everyone else, and is currently in fifth place, the final bye position, based on points earned per game. “The reality for us is that like most seasons, it’s been a roller coaster,” said Large, … Read more
In early November, American International announced that it was downgrading its hockey program to Division II. This means, barring a last-minute long-shot reprieve, this season will be the final one in Atlantic Hockey for the Yellow Jackets, who won four regular-season titles from 2019 to 2022 and enjoyed three playoff championships/NCAA appearances in 2019, 2021, … Read more
Scoring goals has been a challenge for Army West Point this season. Before last weekend, the Black Knights (7-15-0) were averaging 1.65 goals a game, and hadn’t scored more than two in a contest since a 5-3 loss to Holy Cross on Nov. 22. Brian Riley’s team came into last weekend’s series with Mercyhurst having … Read more
The Hockey Commissioners Association (HCA) has announced a watch list of 35 goalies who will compete for the Mike Richter Award, given annually since 2014 to the top goalie in men’s NCAA Division I hockey. The 35 goalies come from the United States (16), Canada (12), Sweden (3), Slovakia (2) and one each from Czechia … Read more
I hope everyone had a safe and happy Holiday season. As we head into the second half of the college hockey season, let’s look back at the first half. Here are our midterm awards. Will things change before the league names the actual winners in March? Probably. But these are our picks for the first … Read more
The Hockey Commissioners Association has announced its men’s honorees for the month of December. Robert Morris sophomore forward Tanner Klimpke is the player of the month, co-rookies of the month are Michigan Tech forward Logan Morrell and Vermont’s Max Strand, and Ohio State sophomore Kristoffer Eberly is the goaltender of the month. Klimpke averaged 2.25 … Read more
While it often seems like the 2024-25 season just got underway, we’re already at the halfway point, with roughly 47% of Atlantic Hockey America’s conference schedule completed. That’s a decent enough sample to look at where all 11 teams stand. My friends at the USCHO Weekend Review podcast have an exercise called “Buy or Sell,” … Read more
The first half of the 2024-25 season has not been kind to Rochester Institute of Technology. Nearing the holiday break, the Tigers find themselves in an unfamiliar position —- near the bottom of the Atlantic Hockey America standings. RIT has won the regular-season title the past two seasons and a playoff championship last year. But … Read more
We’re past Thanksgiving, which means it’s OK to start looking at the PairWise rankings. At least that’s what my friends say. Here’s some early analysis from the USCHO Weekend Review podcast as well as our Tuesday Morning Quarterback column. If you follow Atlantic Hockey America, one quick peek is all you need. The highest-ranked AHA … Read more
It’s an old sports writing cliche, but at this time of the season, you’ll often see stories listing what teams have to be thankful for so far. Guilty as charged. I’m offering a slight variation – here’s a player on each Atlantic Hockey America team whose play inspires gratitude from coaches, players, and fans, at … Read more
Last Tuesday, word began spreading that American International was downgrading its men’s hockey program to Division II at the end of this season. Yellow Jackets coach Eric Lang confirmed it to me in a text and later issued the following statement to social media: AIC has been the place I've called my home for over … Read more
While Sacred Heart was the consensus pick to finish first in Atlantic Hockey this season, coach CJ Marottolo, in his 16th year behind the Pioneers bench, knows his team is a work in progress. His roster includes seven rookies as well as nine transfers, and it will take some time to gel. After a split … Read more