Men’s D-I in general
“Bigger and Better” would be the way to describe the 2010-11 Atlantic Hockey season. The league has expanded from 10 teams to 12, welcoming Niagara and Robert Morris. Senior forward Chris Kushneriuk and Robert Morris hope to make a big splash in the program’s first season in Atlantic Hockey (photo: Robert Morris Athletics). The last … Read more
Injuries and spotty goaltending led to a disappointing 2009-10 season for the Bentley Falcons, who finished in eighth place and were defeated by Connecticut in the first round of the Atlantic Hockey playoffs. But a new season brings a fresh start for Ryan Soderquist’s team. “We’re pretty optimistic heading into the fall,” he said. “I … Read more
Needless to say, it’s going to be tough for Rochester Institute of Technology to top last year. The Tigers won their first Atlantic Hockey playoff title and became the first AHA team to reach the Frozen Four by virtue of winning the NCAA East Regional with upset victories over Denver and New Hampshire. But this … Read more
In 2009-10, Canisius enjoyed its best season under sixth-year coach Dave Smith, finishing fourth in Atlantic Hockey and advancing to the playoff semifinals for the first time since 2004. Several Golden Griffins also won individual accolades, including senior Cory Conacher, the reigning player of the year in the AHA. Conacher put up 53 points last … Read more
At the beginning of last season, the Sacred Heart Pioneers were coming off a disappointing 11-23-4 season and didn’t have a head coach. But C.J. Marottolo put the pieces together quickly and led his team to a 21-win season and a spot in the Atlantic Hockey championship game. “The group of seniors we had last … Read more
The Mercyhurst Lakers are again picked to finish near the top of the Atlantic Hockey standings, which doesn’t come as a shock to coach Rick Gotkin. “We always seem to be in the hunt and I think that’s the result of the success and commitment of our program,” he said. So it was unusual to … Read more
Minnesota-Duluth and new member Bemidji State are among the WCHA teams already planning on debuting new arenas in 2010-11. Nebraska-Omaha may have arena news of its own soon. Mavericks coach Dean Blais said on Tuesday’s WCHA preseason teleconference with media members that the school is hoping to break ground in the spring on a 7,500-to-8,000-seat … Read more
The good news for Army coach Brian Riley is that he has 24 players back from last year’s squad. The bad news is that none of them is named Owen Meyer or Eric Sefchik. Those two, along with now-senior Cody Omilusik, saw tons of ice time and racked up almost 50 percent of the Black … Read more
At the beginning of last season, Air Force coach Frank Serratore was asked whether he was going to start other goalies instead of relying solely on then-senior Andrew Volkening, who had played almost every minute of every game over the past two seasons. After all, life without his workhorse goaltender would begin the next year. … Read more
Niagara’s admission to Atlantic Hockey was seen as one of necessity rather than desire. The school was criticized in the media for “taking a step back” because the move meant fewer scholarships. But according to coach Dave Burkholder, it also meant less of something else. “Travel,” he said. “Besides the other advantages, we’ll be traveling … Read more
Last season was a difficult one for Connecticut. The Huskies endured injury and personnel problems en route to a 7-27-3 season. Freshman goaltender Jeff Larson was forced into a starting role early in the season thanks to an injury to Brad McInnis, and he won just two games before quitting school in December. Coach Bruce … Read more
Last year, Holy Cross put up almost identical numbers as the year before (12-19-6 in 2009-10; 13-20-5 in 2008-09). Treading water isn’t what coach Paul Pearl has in mind. “We had a star-crossed kind of season,” Pearl said. “Guys were pretty banged up.” Twenty-two returning players, a strong recruiting class and some momentum from last … Read more
The Robert Morris Colonials are an unknown commodity heading into their first season in Atlantic Hockey. But an impressive, experienced lineup has made them a favorite to finish near the top of the standings. Robert Morris was picked to finish fourth in the coach’s preseason poll, and got two first-place votes. Are they the team … Read more
American International won only five games during the 2008-09 season, but played some of its best hockey late in that season. Coach Gary Wright hoped that the strong finish would bode well for his 2009-10 squad. But AIC again won only five games last season, albeit with another strong finish. Hope springs eternal. “We felt … Read more
Last year Brown was no worst-to-first fairytale under rookie coach Brendan Whittet last year, but the Bears made strides nonetheless. The former Dartmouth assistant and Brown letterwinner guided his alma mater to a six-point improvement over its 2008-09 finish, and stunned the field in a Cinderella sprint into the league tournament’s final four in Albany. … Read more
Last year Union had one of its best seasons ever last year, setting a team Division I record for wins (21) and advancing to the ECAC Hockey semifinals for the first time. The win total was the most in program history since 1984-85, when the Dutchmen finished third in the nation in the D-III playoffs. … Read more
Last year Harvard looked to be on solid ground after Game 1 — a 5-3 win at highly regarded Dartmouth. The footing got a tad more treacherous shortly thereafter, as the Crimson fell off the map with an 0-8-2 tumble. The Ivy took three W’s in a row and tagged on a tie in mid-January, … Read more
Last year Yale topped the 20-win mark for the second season in a row, a feat the program had accomplished only once before, between 1984 and 1986. A seven-game winning streak entering the regular-season finale appeared to portend big, big things for these Bulldogs … but a last-day loss at local rival Quinnipiac proved more … Read more
Last year Dartmouth didn’t respond to an exciting, offensively dynamic fifth-place run in 2008-09 quite the way most prognosticators had imagined. Instead of improving on a scintillating combination of chemistry and youthful energy, the Green fell apart almost literally from Day One. Dartmouth lost its first six games — all of the league variety — … Read more
Last year When Quinnipiac rocketed out to a 12-1-0 start, it looked as though the Bobcats could cruise their way right into the NCAA tournament. Apparently, that sentiment was felt too deep in the locker room as well, as the Q-Cats dozed their way into a 1-11-2 slump and finished the year only two games … Read more