Atlantic Hockey – Wikipedia
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NCAA Men’s Division I Ice Hockey conference
The Atlantic Hockey Association (AHA) is an NCAA Men’s Division I Ice Hockey conference which operates primarily in the northeastern United States. It participates in the NCAA’s Division I as an ice hockey-only conference. Unlike several other college athletic conferences, Atlantic Hockey has no women’s division, though it shares some organizational and administrative roles (and two universities) with the women’s-only College Hockey America.
It was formed in 1997 and began play in the 1998–1999 season as the hockey division of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC). Within three years, it was granted an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. However, in 2003, Iona and Fairfield dropped hockey, leaving Canisius as the only full MAAC member that sponsored hockey. This proved somewhat problematic for MAAC Hockey, since conference bylaws only allowed full members to vote. On June 30, 2003, MAAC Hockey broke off from the MAAC and reorganized as Atlantic Hockey.[1]
Membership[edit]
Current[edit]
Institution | Location | Nickname | Founded | Affiliation | Undergraduate Enrollment | Joined | Women’s Conference | Primary Conference | Colors |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
United States Air Force Academy | Colorado Springs, Colorado | Falcons | 1954 | Public/Federal | 4,400 | 2006 | N/A | Mountain West | |
American International College | Springfield, Massachusetts | Yellow Jackets | 1885 | Private/Non-sectarian | 1,700 | 1998 | N/A | Northeast-10 (D-II) | |
United States Military Academy | West Point, New York | Black Knights | 1802 | Public/Federal | 4,400 | 2000 | N/A | Patriot League | |
Bentley University | Waltham, Massachusetts | Falcons | 1917 | Private/Non-sectarian | 3,958 | 1999 | N/A | Northeast-10 (D-II) | |
Canisius College | Buffalo, New York | Golden Griffins | 1870 | Private/Catholic | 3,490 | 1998 | N/A | MAAC | |
College of the Holy Cross | Worcester, Massachusetts | Crusaders | 1843 | Private/Catholic | 2,897 | 1998 | HEA | Patriot League | |
Mercyhurst University | Erie, Pennsylvania | Lakers | 1926 | Private/Catholic | 4,055 | 1999 | CHA | PSAC (D-II) | |
Niagara University[2] | Lewiston, New York | Purple Eagles | 1856 | Private/Catholic | 3,853 | 2010 | N/A [a] | MAAC | |
Rochester Institute of Technology | Henrietta, New York | Tigers | 1829 | Private/Non-sectarian | 16,842 | 2006 | CHA | Liberty League (D-III) | |
Sacred Heart University | Fairfield, Connecticut | Pioneers | 1963 | Private/Catholic | 5,428 | 1998 | NEWHA[b] | NEC |
Future[edit]
- ^ Niagara’s women’s team was in College Hockey America before the university dropped the program in 2012.
- ^ The NEWHA was founded in 2017 as a scheduling alliance between Division I and Division II women’s ice hockey independents, with Sacred Heart as a founding member. It formally organized as a conference in 2018 and received NCAA recognition in 2019.
- ^ Robert Morris was a member of Atlantic Hockey from 2010 to 2021 until the program was cut. Subsequent fundraising efforts allowed the program to be reinstated for the 2023–24 season with Robert Morris rejoining Atlantic Hockey.
- ^ RMU will also rejoin its former women’s hockey home of College Hockey America in 2023–24.
Former[edit]
Timeline[edit]
Atlantic Hockey champions[edit]
[3]
Atlantic Hockey tournament champions by school[edit]
School | Championship Years |
---|---|
Air Force | 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011,
2012, 2017, 2018 |
RIT | 2010, 2015, 2016 |
American International | 2019, 2021, 2022 |
Holy Cross | 2004, 2006 |
Mercyhurst | 2005 |
Robert Morris | 2014 |
Canisius | 2013, 2023 |
No tournament was held in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
National tournament history[edit]
* – at-large selection.
† – Tournament canceled due to COVID-19 pandemic
Conference arenas[edit]
School | Hockey Arena | Location | Capacity |
---|---|---|---|
Air Force | Cadet Ice Arena | Colorado Springs, CO | 2,502 |
American International | MassMutual Center | Springfield, MA | 6,866 |
Army | Tate Rink | West Point, NY | 2,648 |
Bentley | Bentley Arena | Waltham, MA | 1,917 |
Canisius | LECOM Harborcenter | Buffalo, NY | 1,800 |
Holy Cross | Hart Center | Worcester, MA | 1,600 |
Mercyhurst | Mercyhurst Ice Center Erie Insurance Arena (alternate) |
Erie, PA | 1,500 6,833 |
Niagara | Dwyer Arena | Lewiston, NY | 1,400 |
RIT | Gene Polisseni Center Blue Cross Arena (alternate) |
Henrietta, NY Rochester, NY |
4,300 10,556 |
Sacred Heart | Total Mortgage Arena | Bridgeport, CT | 8,412 |
Tournament | LECOM Harborcenter | Buffalo, NY | 1,800 |
At the conclusion of each regular season schedule the coaches of each Atlantic Hockey team vote which players they choose to be on the three or four All-Conference Teams:[4] first team, second team and rookie team (third team beginning in 2007). Additionally they vote to award 7 of the 9 individual trophies to an eligible player and 1 team award at the same time. Atlantic Hockey also awards a regular season scoring title that is not voted on as well as a Conference Tournament Most Valuable Player, which is voted on at the conclusion of the conference tournament. All individual and team awards have been awarded since Atlantic Hockey’s inaugural season in 2003–04.[5]
All-Conference Teams[edit] |
Individual Awards[edit] |
Team Awards[edit]
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See also[edit]
References[edit]
External links[edit]
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