Atlantic Hockey hands out 2022-23 awards, including RIT’s Wilkie as top player, AIC’s Fiske as goalie champ, Army West Point’s Itagaki as best rookie

Atlantic Hockey has announced its 2022-23 regular-season awards – player of the year, rookie of the year, coach of the year, best defenseman, best defensive forward, scoring champion, goaltending champion, individual sportsmanship award and team sportsmanship award. Honorees this year include four from Atlantic Hockey regular-season champion RIT – forward Carter Wilkie (player of the … Read more

This Week in Atlantic Hockey: Canisius, Holy Cross gearing up for winner-take-all conference title game Saturday with NCAA tournament berth on line

For the last 17 years that I have been covering Atlantic Hockey for USCHO, this final column of the season has looked forward to a championship weekend that involved four teams converging on a single, neutral location. Things have changed. The new format adopted by the league this season creates a one-game, winner-takes-all championship, hosted … Read more

AIC, Army West Point, RIT lead way with four players apiece on ’22-23 Atlantic Hockey all-conference teams, all-rookie team

Atlantic Hockey has announced its 2022-23 all-Atlantic Hockey teams and all-rookie team. Regular season champion RIT, runner-up AIC, and Army West Point led all teams in selections with four players each. First Team Carter Wilkie, F, So., RIT Neil Shea, F, Sr., Sacred Heart Blake Bennett, F, Sr., AIC Gianfranco Cassaro, D, Sr., RIT Aiden … Read more

This Week in Atlantic Hockey: Down to final four in conference postseason with semifinals on tap this weekend

And then there were four in the quest for the Riley Cup. Last weekend’s Atlantic Hockey quarterfinals saw three of the four series go the distance, with two lower seeds advancing: – Rochester Institute of Technology swept Mercyhurst in a pair of tight games. The Tigers got the game-winner from Adam Jeffery on Friday with … Read more

This Week in Atlantic Hockey: Looking at upcoming conference quarterfinal playoffs as postseason arrives

When the dust settled on the 2022-23 Atlantic Hockey regular season, no tiebreakers were necessary for determining the final standings/seedings, as each team ended with a unique point total. The end result: 1. Rochester Institute of Technology 2. American International 3. Sacred Heart 4. Canisius 5. Army West Point 6. Niagara 7. Holy Cross 8. … Read more

This Week in Atlantic Hockey: With postseason approaching, leaving out two teams ‘not a level playing field’

After 15 years of holding the semifinals and finals of the Atlantic Hockey tournament at neutral sites, the conference is moving all tournament games on campus this season. The format will be as follows: Quarterfinals March 3-5 Best-of-three series #8 seed at #1 seed #7 seed at #2 seed #6 seed at #3 seed #5 … Read more

Atlantic Hockey renaming regular-season championship trophy Robert DeGregorio Trophy, recognizing retiring commissioner

The Atlantic Hockey Board of Directors announced Thursday that the conference’s regular-season championship trophy will be renamed the Robert DeGregorio Trophy in honor of the retiring Atlantic Hockey commissioner. The announcement was made Thursday evening as DeGregorio participated in a pre-game puck drop prior to the start of the Niagara-RIT game at Niagara’s Dwyer Arena. … Read more

This Week in Atlantic Hockey: New commissioner Morgan says new job is ‘a great opportunity’ as hockey ‘has always been my first love’

On Feb 2. Atlantic Hockey announced the selection of Michelle Morgan as its new commissioner, beginning April 17. She will succeed Bob DeGregorio, who is retiring after 20 years at the helm, dating back to the foundation of the conference. She will also replace DeGregorio as the commissioner of the women’s College Hockey America conference. … Read more

John Carroll senior AD Morgan tabbed new commissioner for Atlantic Hockey, College Hockey America

Following a thorough national search, Atlantic Hockey and College Hockey America have named Michelle Morgan as their next commissioner. “I am honored to be named the next commissioner of Atlantic Hockey and College Hockey America,” Morgan said in a news release. “I’d like to thank the search committee for their dedication throughout the process. I’m … Read more

This Week in Atlantic Hockey: Dawning on retirement as conference commissioner, DeGregorio reflects on accomplishments over years

Last April, Atlantic Hockey commissioner Bob DeGregorio announced that this season, his 20th, would be his last at the helm. He will also retire as commissioner of the College Hockey America women’s conference, which he has led for 13 years. At age 76, and after 40 years in college athletics, DeGregorio said that it was … Read more

This Week in Atlantic Hockey: Handing out midterm awards, plus asking key questions as second half of 2022-23 season gets underway

In the last Atlantic Hockey column, we handed out midterm grades for each Atlantic Hockey team. As we head into the second semester, what players are in the running to make the dean’s list? Here are my midterm awards. Will things change before the league names the actual winners in March? They sure will. But … Read more

This Week in Atlantic Hockey: Handing out mid-term grades to all 10 conference teams at 2022 holiday break

With the first half of the Atlantic Hockey season in the books, let’s hand out some mid-term grades: Air Force (6-10-2, 2-7-1 AHA) Atlantic Hockey Standings: Ninth Points Per Game: 0.70 (Ninth) PairWise Ranking: 55 The Lowdown: The Falcons have some quality wins, including over Colorado College and RIT. But they’ve dropped five in a … Read more

This Week in Atlantic Hockey: Sluggish first half of ’22-23 season has Holy Cross hungry to turn around fortunes for second-half run

There have been some growing pains for Holy Cross in the first half of this season. A challenging schedule has meant more losses than wins so far, but the consistency that coach Bill Riga has been looking for is starting to emerge. “We’ve been up and down, especially early in the season,” Riga said. “We’ve … Read more

Atlantic Hockey 2022-23 Season Preview: Complacency not an issue for any teams as conference finds itself focused on new season

It’s difficult to predict what will happen in a college hockey season, but coaches and journalists try, issuing preseason polls and predictions at this time of year. It’s a difficult and usually futile effort, especially when it comes to Atlantic Hockey. Air Force coach Frank Serratore should know. His Falcons were picked ninth in last … Read more

American International takes top spot in ’22-23 Atlantic Hockey preseason coaches poll; Canisius’ Barczewski, Sacred Heart’s Shea, RIT’s Wilkie preseason co-players of year

Four-time defending regular-season champion American International is the winner of the 2022-23 Atlantic Hockey preseason coaches poll, which was released Tuesday. The Yellow Jackets garnered eight of nine possible first-place votes in balloting among AHA head coaches (coaches could not vote for their own teams) for 88 points to outdistance second-place Sacred Heart, which received … Read more

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