Tigers Roar Picked to finish eighth in the Atlantic Hockey preseason poll, RIT is certainly exceeding expectations. The Tigers are currently tied for third in the standings on points, with the best winning percentage in the league. RIT boasts the top offense, defense and penalty kill in the conference, and is tied for first in … Read more
RIT will move from the ECAC Women’s East Hockey League into the conference’s ECAC Women’s West League next season, becoming the ninth member of the league. The decision was made by the league administrators during a conference call on Monday, Dec. 4. The Tigers will join Buffalo State, Chatham, Cortland, Elmira, Neumann, Oswego, Plattsburgh, and … Read more
Go-To Guys Sacred Heart’s Pierre-Luc O’Brien and Air Force’s Eric Ehn came into this season expected to be near the top of the league in scoring. Last season, O’Brien had 50 points, good for fourth in Atlantic Hockey, while Ehn had 35 points, sixth best in College Hockey America. So far, neither has disappointed. Ehn … Read more
Giving Thanks I was all set to do the typical “What teams have to be thankful for” column this week when I was alerted to a couple of stories that transcend college hockey. Thanks to Eric Melanson, Athletic Communications Assistant at Army, and Greg Royce, Sports Information Director at AIC, for their assistance with this … Read more
Downtime The Mercyhurst Lakers had last weekend off, and coach Rick Gotkin can’t decide if that was a good thing or a bad thing. His team is off to a 2-6 start, and has had almost two weeks to dwell on an epic collapse at Sacred Heart, where the Lakers surrendered four goals in the … Read more
Comeback College hockey is well known for dramatic comebacks. The wide-open nature of the game means that few leads are safe. But when Scott Champagne scored with 6:33 to play to give Mercyhurst a 4-0 lead over Sacred Heart on Saturday, it looked inevitable that the Lakers would put this one in the “W” column … Read more
Westward, Pioneers The Sacred Heart Pioneers went West last weekend, venturing to Michigan to take on Wayne State and Michigan State. It was the first meeting ever between Sacred Heart and either of the two schools. Against Wayne State on Friday, the Pioneers trailed 1-0 midway through the third period before getting the equalizer from … Read more
At the Top To say that Army is off to a good start would be an understatement. The Black Knights are 3-0-1, their best opening in 30 years. Army’s sweep at Connecticut was its first road sweep against a conference opponent since 1988, when the Black Knights were still in the ECAC. “It feels good, … Read more
Welcome Back With the first two weeks of the season in the books, we’ve had just two conference tilts so far, featuring the majority of teams in non-league contests against teams from the “Big Four” conferences. Unfortunately, AHA teams are just 1-15-2 so far in nonconference games. One of the new kids on the block, … Read more
Each year on the night that the men’s hockey team hosts Harvard in Lynah Rink, denizens of the Lynah Faithful smuggle contraband into the rink in order to break the rules and continue the tradition of covering the ice with fish before the game. Oct. 28 will be different.
Funeral services for legendary University of Michigan and U.S. National Team coach Vic Heyliger have been set for 2 p.m. MDT on Friday, Oct. 13, at the Broadmoor Community Church in Colorado Springs, Colo. (315 Lake Avenue, Colorado Springs, CO 80906). Heyliger passed away at his home in Colorado Springs on Wednesday, Oct. 4, at … Read more
The Black Knights got off to a slow start last season at 0-7-1, but were able to get on track thanks to a sweep of archrival Air Force in November. After that, Army chalked up wins over the top teams in the league en route to a fifth-place finish, just a point out of fourth. … Read more
RIT had its ups and downs in its first season of Division I play, putting a scare into several top teams and knocking off St. Lawrence. Looking for the silver lining in a 6-22-2 season can be difficult, but Wayne Wilson’s squad was able to gain some solace in the fact that the Tigers, with … Read more
Youth was served at Bentley in 2005-06, as the Falcons’ crop of rookies matured throughout the season, culminating in Bentley’s first-ever appearance in the conference championship game. “We’re hopeful that the freshmen from last season will continue to improve,” said coach Ryan Soderquist. “Plus, I think we have some great new players.” Soderquist says that … Read more
Things are looking up in Storrs, Conn., as the Connecticut Huskies seem poised to make some noise in the conference. True, there were only 11 wins last season to go along with 23 losses and two ties, but UConn ended the season on a high note, upsetting Sacred Heart in the league quarterfinals before bowing … Read more
In all three previous Atlantic Hockey preseason coaches’ polls, the Mercyhurst Lakers came out on top. Coach Rick Gotkin thought that the streak would come to an end with this season’s poll. “This was the year,” said Gotkin. “I was pretty sure, based on all we lost and the success some other teams had last … Read more
American International coach Gary Wright is pragmatic. He assumed his team would be picked to finish last in the Atlantic Hockey preseason coaches’ poll — after all, the Yellow Jackets finished at the bottom of the standings last season. WRIGHT But Wright says that things are looking up in Springfield. “We’re obviously worried about where … Read more
A new season brings a new lineup for the Atlantic Hockey Association, as the addition of Air Force and RIT brings the total number of teams to ten. “We’re very pleased to welcome established programs like Air Force and RIT to Atlantic Hockey,” said AHA commissioner Bob DeGregorio. “They are great additions to our league … Read more
Sacred Heart enjoyed a breakthrough season in 2005-06, and it was no fluke. Powered by all-league forward Pierre-Luc O’Brien and Atlantic Hockey Rookie of the Year Bear Trapp, the Pioneers won a school-record 21 games before being upset in the league quarterfinals. Even more is expected of the Pioneers this season, as Shaun Hannah’s squad … Read more
There are a lot of fresh faces in the lineup for Canisius, but the Griffs will not be as green as one might think. “We’ll be young, but not as bad as if you just see the new names in the media guide,” said Griffs coach Dave Smith, entering his second season behind the Canisius … Read more