Atlantic Hockey America to Begin Play in 2024-25

Two conferences have become one, as the men's Atlantic Hockey Association and the women's College Hockey America unit have combined to form a single new entity in Atlantic Hockey America. The 14 NCAA Division I schools involved will compete under the new AHA banner beginning with the 2024-25 season.

Joining the new conference from Atlantic Hockey are Air Force, American International, Army West Point, Bentley, Canisius, Holy Cross, Mercyhurst, Niagara, RIT, Robert Morris and Sacred Heart. Transitioning from the CHA are Mercyhurst, Penn State, Lindenwood, RIT, Robert Morris and Syracuse.

Atlantic Hockey began as the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference in 1998-99, before reorganizing as the AHA in 2003. The CHA commenced play in 1999-2000 as a men's only conference which disbanded in 2010, with the women's league starting up in 2002-03 and continuing ever since.

The colors for the new league, which will be headquartered in Boston, are blue and gold, while the logo is a melding of the two previous league symbols. The commissioner is former college hockey player Michelle Morgan (St. Thomas). The new league's website is located at atlantichockeyonline.com.

Bob Peters 1937-2021

Legendary college head coach R.H. "Bob" Peters" passed away on Feb. 15 at the age of 84.

A native of Fort Frances, Ont., Peters began his coaching career with two seasons at his alma mater, the University of North Dakota, where he played as a goaltender before becoming an assistant coach for three years. He went 42-20-1 overall behind the bench at UND, before he took the reins at Bemidji State University beginning with the 1966-67 campaign. 

In 36 seasons with the Beavers, Peters posted 22 seasons of 20 or more wins, and led BSU to five NCAA Division II national championships and one NCAA Division III national title. He also oversaw BSU's transition back to NCAA Division II in 1993, before overseeing its move to NCAA Division I and the now-defunct College Hockey America conference in 1999.

Peters retired after the 2000-01 season with an overall record of 744-313-61 (.694), including a 702-293-50 mark at BSU. He was named the WCHA Coach of the Year in 1964-65 with North Dakota, and earned the Eddie Jeremiah Award as the top head coach in NCAA Division III in 1983-84 with Bemidji State.

The Beavers are playing in their first season in the revamped Central Collegiate Hockey Assocation, after the dissolution of the men's WCHA. Last year's BSU squad made the NCAA Division I tournament for the fifth time in the program's history, and the first time since 2010, all under current head coach Tom Serratore.

RMU Off Ice Until at Least 2022-23

 

The Robert Morris University men's and women's hockey programs will not play in 2021-22. It was announced last week that both teams will be on hiatus until at least the 2022-23 season.

The Colonials hockey teams were discontinued by the university back in May. Since then fundraisers, which will be ongoing, were started to help revive the programs, along with the threat of potential legal action.

The 2021-22 Atlantic Hockey (men's hockey) and College Hockey America (women's hockey) composite schedules were previously released without the Colonials on either of them.

Robert Morris Drops Varsity Hockey Programs

 

The plug has been abruptly pulled on both the Robert Morris University men's and women's hockey programs.

The university announced on Wednesday that both programs were being discontinued immediately as part of a "series of strategic initiatives."

RMU began play in NCAA Division I men's hockey in 2004-05, and skated all 17 of its seasons under head coach Derek Schooley (Western Michigan). Under his tutelage the Colonials won 275 games, and claimed three Atlantic Hockey regular-season crowns, including this season. They also made the NCAA tournament in 2014 after winning the league playoff title that year, but fell to Minnesota in the first round.

The RMU women's team got started in 2005-06 and played in the NCAA tournament this past season after winning the College Hockey America conference, although the Colonials fell in the first round of the NCAAs to eventual national runner-up Northeastern. RMU also qualified for the national tournament in 2017, and altogether won a combined six CHA regular-season and postseason championships, while recording a total of 240 victories all-time, under four different head coaches.

RMU becomes the first men's Division I hockey program to be discontinued since Wayne State did so in 2008, although Alabama-Huntsville and Alaska Anchorage are both on hiatus for the 2021-22 campaign and may not return. The Colonials are the first women's Division I hockey outfit to fold since North Dakota dropped its women's program in 2017.

RMU, which is located in Moon Township, Pa. outside Pittsburgh, is expected to retain control of the Colonials home ice of Clearview Arena in Neville Island, Pa., and is also expected to retain its three ACHA men's club teams.

Former UAH Netminder to Make NHL Debut Tonight

 
Former University of Alabama-Huntsville goaltender Cam Talbot will make his NHL debut tonight when the New York Rangers visit the Philadelphia Flyers. He will play in place of injured regular and 2012 Vezina Trophy winner Henrik Lundqvist.

"It's every kid's dream that grows up playing hockey to one day get the chance to play in the NHL," said Talbot in a game preview at NJ.com. "I just can't wait until that time comes. I'll have to approach it like any other game. It'll be tough to control those emotions, but I'll have to do my best to settle myself down and just focus on the game."

A native of Caledonia, Ont., Talbot, 26, played at UAH from 2007 to 2010. In three seasons with the Chargers, he posted a 15-44-6 record in 70 games with a 3.03 goals-against average, .909 save percentage, and three shut-outs. He also also led the Chargers to the final College Hockey America crown with a 43-save effort in the 2010 league title game against Niagara, and then closed out his college career with 36 stops in a 2-1 loss to Miami in an NCAA Midwest Regional semifinal, according to his career stats at USCHO.com.

After turning pro with Hartford (AHL) in 2010, playing in one game, the undrafted Talbot went 11-9-2 with the Wolfpack in 22 games (2.84, .902) the following season, according to hockeydb.com. He then played in 33 games with Connecticut (AHL) in 2011-12, finishing with a 14-15-1 record (2.61, .913) , before going 25-28-1 in a career-high 55 appearances (2.63, .918) with the Whale last season.

Face-off tonight at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia is slated for 7 p.m.

Penn State Unveils New Sweaters

Penn State University is just weeks away from unveiling its new men's and women's NCAA hockey teams on ice. Earlier this week, both squads unveiled their new white home and blue road sweaters, as depicted online at USCHO.com.

The overall design for both teams is generally the same, except the women's team will carry a College Hockey America patch on theirs, below the left shoulder, as they will begin CHA play this season. The men's team will compete as an independent in 2012-13 before moving to the new Big Ten Conference a year from now with Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota, Ohio State and Wisconsin.

Both team's sweaters will feature a Nike logo below the right shoulder, and traditional hockey lacing in front below the neck.It's a nice, clean look, with the school's blue and white colors complimenting each other well. There's solid wide striping featured on both the sleeves and waist, and the well-known Nittany Lion head logo situated on the front.

For Penn State men's coach Guy Gadowsky, who originally comes from a pro background, it's similar to his previous two college stops. Alaska Fairbanks had the UAF logo on the front of its sweaters during his tenure there, while Princeton displayed the university shield while he was behind the bench at Baker Rink and actually kept the design last season.

The PSU women's team and coach Josh Brandwene will make their varsity debut first, when the Nittany Lions visit Vermont on Oct. 6-7. The men's team will swing into action a week later at home against American International College on Oct. 12-13.

Reprieve for Alabama-Huntsville?

Don't bury the UAH Chargers just yet.

A story in the Huntsville Times on Tuesday explained that the new president at the University of Alabama-Huntsville, Robert Altenkirch, sat down with members of the Save UAH Hockey group—and a plan is now supposedly underway to possibly save the school's long running NCAA Division I hockey program, which was to be dropped as a varsity sport next year.

University chancellor Malcolm Portera had said in October that the Charger hockey team would be disbanded at the close of the current season due to financial constraints and likely reduced to club status. UAH, which will host the 2012 NCAA Frozen Four in Tampa, has also been without a league home since the College Hockey America conference dissolved in 2010.

The Chargers applied to the Central Collegiate Hockey Association for membership afterwards, but were rejected. The CCHA itself will cease to exist in the fall of 2013 when the new Big Ten Conference and the National Collegiate Hockey Conference, which both absorbed several CCHA teams, begin play. The remaining CCHA schools have been accepted into the Western Collegiate Hockey Association.

Financial details of the plan(s) to save the UAH hockey program are expected to be released over the next few days. UAH goaltender Clarke Saunders has apparently committed to North Dakota for the 2012-13 campaign, since it was believed there would be no varsity UAH team after this year. Generally, transfer students do not have to sit out a year of NCAA competition when a program folds; but whether Saunders returns to UAH if the program does, has yet to be revealed.