Atlantic Hockey
NCAA Men's Division I Ice Hockey conference From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
NCAA Men's Division I Ice Hockey conference From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Atlantic Hockey Association (AHA) was an NCAA Men's Division I Ice Hockey conference which operates primarily in the northeastern United States. It participated in the NCAA's Division I as an ice hockey-only conference. Unlike several other college athletic conferences, Atlantic Hockey had no women's division, though it shared some organizational and administrative roles (and three universities) with the women's-only College Hockey America (CHA).
 | |
| Formerly | MAAC (1997–2003) |
|---|---|
| Association | NCAA |
| Founded | 1997 (as MAAC Hockey) 2003 (as Atlantic Hockey) |
| Commissioner | Michelle Morgan (since 2023) |
| Sports fielded |
|
| Division | Division I |
| No. of teams | 11 |
| Headquarters | Boston, Massachusetts |
| Region | Northeastern United States and Colorado |
| Most recent champion(s) | RIT (4th title) |
| Most titles | Air Force (7) |
| Official website | http://www.atlantichockeyonline.com/ |
| Locations | |
| |
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]
On June 6, 2023, it was announced that Atlantic Hockey would be merging all operations with CHA, effective in 2024. Details regarding this merger, including whether the new league would carry the Atlantic or College Hockey name, were to be announced at a later date.[2] Shortly after the 2024 season, the new conference was announced as Atlantic Hockey America.[3]
| Season | Tournament | Regular Season Champion | Tournament Champion | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003–04 | 2004 | Holy Cross (1) | Holy Cross (1) | Atlantic Hockey Association founded by American International, Army, Bentley, Canisius, Connecticut, Holy Cross, Mercyhurst, Quinnipiac and Sacred Heart |
| 2004–05 | 2005 | Quinnipiac (1) | Mercyhurst (1) | Final AHA season for Quinnipiac, (leaving for the ECAC) |
| 2005–06 | 2006 | Holy Cross (2) | Holy Cross (2) | |
| 2006–07 | 2007 | RIT (1) | Air Force (1) | Air Force and RIT join the AHA |
| 2007–08 | 2008 | Army (1) | Air Force (2) | |
| 2008–09 | 2009 | RIT(2) / Air Force (1) | Air Force (3) | |
| 2009–10 | 2010 | RIT (3) | RIT (1) | |
| 2010–11 | 2011 | RIT (4) | Air Force (4) | Niagara and Robert Morris join the AHA |
| 2011–12 | 2012 | Air Force (2) | Air Force (5) | |
| 2012–13 | 2013 | Niagara (1) | Canisius (1) | |
| 2013–14 | 2014 | Mercyhurst (1) | Robert Morris (1) | Final AHA season for Connecticut, (leaving for Hockey East) |
| 2014–15 | 2015 | Robert Morris (1) | RIT (2) | |
| 2015–16 | 2016 | Robert Morris (2) | RIT (3) | |
| 2016–17 | 2017 | Canisius (1) | Air Force (6) | |
| 2017–18 | 2018 | Mercyhurst (2) | Air Force (7) | |
| 2018–19 | 2019 | American International (1) | American International (1) | |
| 2019–20 | 2020 | American International (2) | Cancelled | Tournament cancelled after quarterfinals due to COVID-19 pandemic |
| 2020–21 | 2021 | American International (3) | American International (2) | |
| 2021–22 | 2022 | American International (4) | American International (3) | Robert Morris suspended its program prior to the start of the season |
| 2022–23 | 2023 | RIT (5) | Canisius (2) | |
| 2023–24 | 2024 | RIT (6) | RIT (4) | Robert Morris reinstated to Atlantic Hockey for this season after restarting its hockey programs |
| School | Championship Years |
|---|---|
| Air Force | 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011,
2012, 2017, 2018 |
| RIT | 2010, 2015, 2016, 2024 |
| American International | 2019, 2021, 2022 |
| Canisius | 2013, 2023 |
| Holy Cross | 2004, 2006 |
| Mercyhurst | 2005 |
| Robert Morris | 2014 |
No tournament was held in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
| Year | AHA Rep. | Opponent | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | Holy Cross | North Dakota | L 0–3 |
| 2005 | Mercyhurst | Boston College | L 4–5 |
| 2006 | Holy Cross | Minnesota | W 4–3 (OT) |
| North Dakota | L 2–5 | ||
| 2007 | Air Force | Minnesota | L 3–4 |
| 2008 | Air Force | Miami (OH) | L 2–3 (OT) |
| 2009 | Air Force | Michigan | W 2–0 |
| Vermont | L 2–3 (2OT) | ||
| 2010 | RIT | Denver | W 2–1 |
| New Hampshire | W 6–2 | ||
| Wisconsin | L 1–8 | ||
| 2011 | Air Force | Yale | L 1–2 (OT) |
| 2012 | Air Force | Boston College | L 0–2 |
| 2013 | Niagara * | North Dakota | L 1–2 |
| Canisius | Quinnipiac | L 3–4 | |
| 2014 | Robert Morris | Minnesota | L 3–7 |
| 2015 | RIT | Minnesota State | W 2–1 |
| Omaha | L 0–4 | ||
| 2016 | RIT | Quinnipiac | L 0–4 |
| 2017 | Air Force | Western Michigan | W 5–4 |
| Harvard | L 2–3 | ||
| 2018 | Air Force | St. Cloud State | W 4–1 |
| Minnesota-Duluth | L 1–2 | ||
| 2019 | AIC | St. Cloud State | W 2–1 |
| Denver | L 0–3 | ||
| 2020 | None† | N/A | N/A |
| 2021 | AIC | North Dakota | L 1–5 |
| 2022 | AIC | Michigan | L 3–5 |
| 2023 | Canisius | Minnesota | L 2–9 |
| 2024 | RIT | Boston University | L 3–6 |
* – at-large selection.
† – Tournament canceled due to COVID-19 pandemic
| 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 |
| Robert Morris | Clearview Arena | Neville Township, PA | 1,200 |
| Sacred Heart | Martire Family Arena | Fairfield, CT | 3,600 |
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:[6] first team, second team and rookie team (third team beginning in 2007). Additionally they vote to award 7 of the 10 individual trophies to an eligible player (or coach) and 1 team award at the same time. Atlantic Hockey also awards a regular season goaltending award and regular season scoring title that are 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 except Goaltender of the Year have been awarded since Atlantic Hockey's inaugural season in 2003–04.[7]
All-Conference teams
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Individual awards |
Team awards
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In 2023, in honor of its 20th anniversary, the conference selected the top 20 players from its history:
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