Atlantic Hockey announces changes to postseason tournament, top eight teams qualify

Entering its 20th anniversary season, Atlantic Hockey has announced changes to its postseason. The battle for the Jack Riley Memorial Trophy will play out on AHA campuses over three weekends in March with a new format that will culminate in a single-game championship weekend. The 2023 postseason will open with best-of-three quarterfinal series March 3-5 … Read more

Atlantic Hockey, College Hockey America commissioner DeGregorio stepping down at conclusion of ’22-23 season

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Atlantic Hockey and College Hockey America commissioner Robert DeGregorio has announced he will retire from both positions following the 2022-23 season. DeGregorio officially notified Atlantic Hockey and College Hockey America leadership of his intention to step down during both leagues’ annual meetings prior to the American Hockey Coaches Association convention in Naples, Fla., last week. … Read more

AIC takes home five honors from Atlantic Hockey, including Theodore as top player, Galambos best ‘D,’ Kucharski goalie champ, for 2021-22 season

Atlantic Hockey announced Thursday its 2021-22 regular-season awards. Honorees this year include five from Atlantic Hockey regular-season champion AIC – Forward Chris Theodore (player of the year), defenseman Zak Galambos (best defenseman), forward Jake Stella (best defensive forward), goaltender Jake Kucharski (goaltending champion) and head coach Eric Lang (coach of the year). They are joined … Read more

Atlantic Hockey announces all-conference teams, all-rookie team for 2021-22 season

Atlantic Hockey announced Wednesday its 2021-22 all-Atlantic Hockey teams and the all-rookie team. Regular-season champion AIC led all teams in selections with five players chosen. Air Force, Army West Point, Canisius, RIT and Sacred Heart each had three players chosen while Bentley, Holy Cross, Mercyhurst and Niagara each had one representative. First Team Chris Theodore, … Read more

This Week in Atlantic Hockey: With conference playoffs down to eight teams, battle for NCAA tournament autobid heating up this weekend

The opening round of the Atlantic Hockey tournament consisted of a pair of sweeps, one by the favorites and one by an underdog. At Mercyhurst, the story was Lakers goaltender Kyle McClellan who stopped 74 of 76 Holy Cross shots he faced in a pair of 2-1 wins. At Niagara, Bentley got a pair of … Read more

This Week in Atlantic Hockey: Previewing the opening round of AHA conference tournament

When the dust settled on the 2021-22 Atlantic Hockey regular season, we were left with the following seedings for the upcoming AHA tournament: 1. American International 2. Canisius 3. Army West Point 4. Rochester Institute of Technology 5. Sacred Heart 6. Air Force 7. Mercyhurst 8. Niagara 9. Bentley 10. Holy Cross Army West Point … Read more

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

Penn State adds men’s hockey game Jan. 1 at Army West Point; postponed Princeton-Quinnipiac series rescheduled for Jan. 18, Jan. 26

Penn State has announced the addition of a single game against Army West Point this Saturday, Jan. 1, at Tate Rink in West Point, N.Y. The game comes as a result of the Nittany Lions’ New Year’s series with Maine being canceled earlier this week due to positive COVID-19 results within the Black Bears program. … 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: 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

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

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