This Week in Atlantic Hockey: Conference standings still in state of flux with last regular-season weekend on tap

With one weekend left in the regular season in Atlantic Hockey, it’s down to the wire with eight of the 10 playoffs spots still to be determined. The top six teams in the standings will get a first-round bye. The top four will host quarterfinal series beginning March 11. Seeds seven through 10 will pair … Read more

This Week in Atlantic Hockey: Army West Point reloads in goal as Abric giving Black Knights ‘a boatload of confidence’

If there’s a downside of having an All-American goaltender, it’s that your other goalies might not get many chances to develop their in-game skills. That was the case last season for Army West Point, which rode Trevin Kozlowski to a second-place finish in Atlantic Hockey. The senior played 20 out of 23 games last season … 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: 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

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

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

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

Former Air Force offensive star Demers back with Falcons as team’s new director of hockey

Chad Demers has been named director of hockey at Air Force. Demers returns to the academy after spending the last three seasons with the USHL’s Fargo Force, which culminated in a Western Conference championship and a trip to the Clark Cup finals last season. “We are very excited and fortunate to have Chad Demers join … Read more

Atlantic Hockey 2020-21 Season Preview: AIC, Bentley, Sacred Heart the early favorites

Do you remember where we left off? It’s painful to think about where things stood on March 12, when Atlantic Hockey players, coaches and fans were looking forward to the league’s quarterfinal round. The 2019-20 season had already ended for Mercyhurst, Holy Cross and Canisius, all falling in the preliminary round of The Atlantic Hockey … Read more