The 2021–22 Atlantic Hockey season was the 19th season of play for Atlantic Hockey and took place during the 2021–22 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey season. The regular season began on October 2, 2021, and concluded on February 26, 2022.[1] The conference tournament began in March, 2022 and concluded with American International winning the conference championship.
On May 26, 2021, Robert Morris University announced that it would be ending both its men and women's varsity hockey programs effective immediately.[2] Fundraising efforts to save both program began immediately. While more than $1 million was secured in less than 3 months, by mid-August the school decided that the donations were insufficient to guarantee the program for the 2021–22 season and the team would look to return for the 2022–23 campaign.[3]
Due to the dissolution of the WCHA, Alabama–Huntsville submitted a bid to join Atlantic Hockey. The 10 existing conference members mulled over admitting UAH, Long Island (an Independent who had been in a scheduling alliance with Atlantic Hockey in 2021), and an unnamed third team that had expressed interest in joining the conference. The member teams ultimately decided against expansion for the 2021–22 season by a unanimous vote.[4]
Of the sixteen teams that are selected to participate in the NCAA tournament, ten will be via at-large bids. Those 10 teams are determined based upon the PairWise rankings. The rankings take into account all games played but are heavily affected by intra-conference results. The result is that teams from leagues which perform better in non-conference are much more likely to receive at-large bids even if they possess inferior records overall.
As a whole, Atlantic Hockey had a poor record against other conferences. While two programs ended with even marks in the regular season, no league member had a winning record in non-conference play. On aggregate, Atlantic Hockey posted losing records against every conference with the exception of ECAC Hockey.
Minimum 1/3 of team's minutes played in conference games. GP = Games played; Min = Minutes played; GA = Goals against; SO = Shutouts; SV% = Save percentage; GAA = Goals against average[8]
Heavy favorite, Michigan, lived up to their billing early when the Wolverines scored twice in the first five minutes of the game. Alec Calvaruso held the fort and stopped the tournament's top seed from extending their lead afterwards. Past the mid-way point of the period, AIC finally got a bounce their way when Blake Bennett tried to center the puck. It deflected up into the air, hit Luke Hughes in the back and then rolled past a sprawling Erik Portillo.
A penalty taken by AIC at the end of the first period resulted in a Michigan power play goal less than a minute into the second. A quick passing play a few minutes later put Michigan ahead by 3 and the Wolverines looked to be just too much for the Yellow Jackets. A few minutes later, however, AIC scored their second goal of the game after a turnover at the Michigan blueline. The Wolverines responded the very next shift when Dylan Duke potted his team's 5th goal, however, the play was reviewed for offsides. While a Michigan player had entered the zone before the puck, it was unclear whether or not an AIC player had shot the puck into the zone. While it appeared that Michigan had caused the puck to cross the blueline, the video was ruled inconclusive and the goal was allowed to stand. AIC continued to play hard, forcing Michigan to take consecutive penalties in the middle of the period, but weren't able to capitalize on their opportunities.
Michigan tried to play a sleepy third period and bleed away the clock but AIC kept playing hard. After Garrett Van Wyhe took an inadvisable holding penalty in the middle of the period, Bennett found himself alone in front of the net and slid the puck around Portillo. Near the end of the game, after the Yellow Jackets pulled their goaltender, Nick Blankenburg cross-checked Elijiah Barriga into the board from behind. There was some concern that the Michigan captain might receive a suspension for the hit and miss the team's next game.[9]
Note: teams ranked in the top-10 automatically qualify for the NCAA tournament. Teams ranked 11-16 can qualify based upon conference tournament results.[12]
^"Composite Schedule". Atlantic Hockey. Retrieved August 30, 2021.
^Benz, Tim. "Robert Morris hockey players mourn loss of men's and women's teams, lash out at administration". Trib Live. Retrieved May 28, 2021.
^"Robert Morris hockey programs on hold until at least 2022-23 season". Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. August 12, 2021. Retrieved August 13, 2021.
^"Atlantic Hockey votes no on expansion". UAH Chargers. July 12, 2021. Retrieved August 30, 2021.
^"Holy Cross names Bill Riga head men's ice hockey coach". Holy Cross Crusaders. May 4, 2021. Retrieved August 21, 2021.
^"Men's Ice Hockey Coaching Records" (PDF). NCAA. 2015. Retrieved March 9, 2016.
^"2021-2022 Men's Ice Hockey Conference Statistics". Atlantic Hockey. Retrieved September 14, 2021.
^"2021-2022 Men's Ice Hockey Conference Statistics". Atlantic Hockey. Retrieved September 14, 2021.
^"AIC 3, Michigan 5 F". USCHO. Retrieved March 24, 2022.
^"USCHO Division I Men's Poll". USCHO.com. Retrieved November 26, 2019.
^"USA Today Men's Poll". USCHO.com. Retrieved November 26, 2019.
^"Men's Division I PairWise Rankings". USCHO.com. Retrieved November 26, 2019.
^"Atlantic Hockey Announces 2021-22 Regular season Awards". Atlantic Hockey. March 17, 2022. Retrieved March 17, 2022.
^"Atlantic Hockey Announces 2021-22 All-Conference Teams". Atlantic Hockey. March 16, 2022. Retrieved March 16, 2022.
External linksedit
Official website
December 15, 2023
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The 2021 22 Atlantic Hockey season was the 19th season of play for Atlantic Hockey and took place during the 2021 22 NCAA Division I men s ice hockey season The regular season began on October 2 2021 and concluded on February 26 2022 1 The conference tournament began in March 2022 and concluded with American International winning the conference championship 2021 22 Atlantic Hockey seasonSeason2021 22ConferenceAtlantic HockeyDivisionDivision ISportice hockeyDurationOctober 2 2021 March 25 2022Number of teams10Regular seasonSeason championsAmerican InternationalTop scorerColin BilekNeil SheaAtlantic Hockey TournamentTournament championsAmerican International Runners upAir ForceTournament MVPBlake BennettTop scorerBlake BennettNCAA tournamentBids1Record0 1Best FinishRegional semifinalTeam s American InternationalAtlantic Hockey seasons 2020 21 2022 23 Contents 1 Realignment 2 Coaches 2 1 Records 3 Standings 4 Non Conference record 4 1 Regular season record 5 Statistics 5 1 Leading scorers 5 2 Leading goaltenders 6 Conference tournament 7 NCAA tournament 7 1 Midwest Regional semifinal 8 Ranking 8 1 USCHO 8 2 USA Today 8 3 Pairwise 9 Awards 9 1 Atlantic Hockey 9 1 1 Conference tournament 10 References 11 External linksRealignment editOn May 26 2021 Robert Morris University announced that it would be ending both its men and women s varsity hockey programs effective immediately 2 Fundraising efforts to save both program began immediately While more than 1 million was secured in less than 3 months by mid August the school decided that the donations were insufficient to guarantee the program for the 2021 22 season and the team would look to return for the 2022 23 campaign 3 Due to the dissolution of the WCHA Alabama Huntsville submitted a bid to join Atlantic Hockey The 10 existing conference members mulled over admitting UAH Long Island an Independent who had been in a scheduling alliance with Atlantic Hockey in 2021 and an unnamed third team that had expressed interest in joining the conference The member teams ultimately decided against expansion for the 2021 22 season by a unanimous vote 4 Coaches editBill Riga replaced David Berard as head coach for Holy Cross during the offseason 5 Wayne Wilson enters the season needing 9 wins to reach 400 wins 6 Records edit Team Head coach Season at school Record at school Atlantic Hockey recordAir Force Frank Serratore 25 410 378 93 211 129 64American International Eric Lang 6 82 73 14 68 43 13Army Brian Riley 18 204 300 82 167 212 76Bentley Ryan Soderquist 20 252 336 81 191 206 72Canisius Trevor Large 5 52 62 13 42 44 10Holy Cross Bill Riga 1 0 0 0 0 0 0Mercyhurst Rick Gotkin 34 572 459 96 234 186 56Niagara Jason Lammers 5 47 71 15 36 48 15RIT Tigers Wayne Wilson 23 391 274 73 216 136 49Sacred Heart C J Marottolo 13 142 237 45 115 164 38Standings edit2021 22 Atlantic Hockey StandingsvteConference record Overall recordGP W L T OW OL SW PTS GF GA GP W L T GF GA 18 American International 26 17 7 2 1 2 0 54 97 61 38 22 13 3 134 95Canisius 26 13 11 2 2 1 1 43 76 67 35 16 16 3 99 97Army 26 12 11 3 0 1 2 42 75 68 35 14 17 4 98 100RIT 26 12 10 4 1 3 3 41 69 82 38 18 16 4 92 115Sacred Heart 26 11 12 3 0 1 3 40 72 70 37 15 18 4 95 100Air Force 26 11 12 3 3 2 2 37 76 80 36 16 17 3 99 127Mercyhurst 26 10 12 4 0 1 1 36 75 79 39 16 19 4 114 129Niagara 26 10 13 3 2 2 1 34 70 79 36 11 22 3 82 122Bentley 26 10 14 2 1 2 1 34 70 78 36 14 20 2 94 117Holy Cross 26 10 14 2 3 0 0 29 56 72 37 12 23 2 77 108Championship March 19 2022 indicates conference regular season champion indicates conference tournament champion Riley Trophy Rankings USCHO com Top 20 PollNon Conference record editOf the sixteen teams that are selected to participate in the NCAA tournament ten will be via at large bids Those 10 teams are determined based upon the PairWise rankings The rankings take into account all games played but are heavily affected by intra conference results The result is that teams from leagues which perform better in non conference are much more likely to receive at large bids even if they possess inferior records overall As a whole Atlantic Hockey had a poor record against other conferences While two programs ended with even marks in the regular season no league member had a winning record in non conference play On aggregate Atlantic Hockey posted losing records against every conference with the exception of ECAC Hockey Regular season record edit Team Big Ten CCHA ECAC Hockey Hockey East Independent NCHC TotalAir Force 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 3 0 2 4 0American International 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 5 1Army 0 3 0 0 0 0 2 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 4 1Bentley 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 4 0Canisius 1 1 0 1 1 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 3 1Holy Cross 0 2 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 1 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 7 0Mercyhurst 1 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 2 5 0Niagara 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 3 0 1 5 0RIT Tigers 1 1 0 0 0 0 3 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 4 4 0Sacred Heart 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 2 3 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 4 1Overall 5 14 0 1 1 0 8 6 3 5 16 1 0 2 0 3 6 0 22 45 4Statistics editLeading scorers edit GP Games played G Goals A Assists Pts Points PIM Penalty minutes 7 Player Class Team GP G A Pts PIMNeil Shea Junior Sacred Heart 26 10 15 25 10Colin Bilek Senior Army 26 7 18 25 20Chris Theodore Senior American International 24 7 17 24 6Jake Stella Junior American International 25 9 14 23 10Justin Young Graduate American International 25 10 13 23 12Ryan Naumovski Junior Niagara 26 6 16 22 2Carson Briere Sophomore Mercyhurst 24 9 13 22 20Will Calverley Senior RIT 26 12 10 22 8Carter Wilkie Freshman RIT 26 9 13 22 27Matt Gosiewski Junior Bentley 26 7 15 22 4Leading goaltenders edit Minimum 1 3 of team s minutes played in conference games GP Games played Min Minutes played GA Goals against SO Shutouts SV Save percentage GAA Goals against average 8 Player Class Team GP Min GA SO SV GAAJake Kucharski Sophomore American International 16 966 35 2 915 2 17Jacob Barczewski Junior Canisius 23 1294 52 1 924 2 41Gavin Abric Freshman Army 23 1313 53 4 927 2 42Justin Robbins Junior Sacred Heart 20 1009 41 0 904 2 44Matt Radomsky Junior Holy Cross 19 1128 46 1 909 2 45Conference tournament editMain article 2022 Atlantic Hockey Tournament Teams are reseeded for the semifinals First roundMarch 4 6QuarterfinalsMarch 11 13SemifinalsMarch 18ChampionshipMarch 191American International56 7Mercyhurst2 2 9Bentley22 10Holy Cross11 1American International57Mercyhurst42Canisius11 7Mercyhurst2 3 1American International76Air Force03Army42 8Niagara21 6Air Force5 3 9Bentley3 4 4RIT36Air Force44RIT1 135Sacred Heart031Note denotes overtime period s NCAA tournament editMain article 2022 NCAA Division I men s ice hockey tournament Midwest Regional semifinal edit March 25 20223 00 PM 1 Michigan5 3 2 1 3 1 0 1 4 American InternationalPPL Center Attendance 2 155Game referenceErik PortilloGoaliesAlec CalvarusoReferees Cameron LynchBrad LeBlancLinesmen Patrick DapuzzoSteve Drain Hughes Moyle Garrett Van Wyhe 5 03 371 0 Brisson Beniers Ethan Edwards 3 04 162 02 112 32 Brian Rigali 13 Bennett Galambos Power Johnson Brendan Brisson 20 PP 20 433 1 Brisson Johnson Matty Beniers 20 GW 22 434 14 226 15 Justin Young 12 Theodore Power Samoskevich Dylan Duke 10 26 435 25 353 48 PP Blake Bennett 19 Barriga Young 8 minPenalties6 min31Shots32Game summaryHeavy favorite Michigan lived up to their billing early when the Wolverines scored twice in the first five minutes of the game Alec Calvaruso held the fort and stopped the tournament s top seed from extending their lead afterwards Past the mid way point of the period AIC finally got a bounce their way when Blake Bennett tried to center the puck It deflected up into the air hit Luke Hughes in the back and then rolled past a sprawling Erik Portillo A penalty taken by AIC at the end of the first period resulted in a Michigan power play goal less than a minute into the second A quick passing play a few minutes later put Michigan ahead by 3 and the Wolverines looked to be just too much for the Yellow Jackets A few minutes later however AIC scored their second goal of the game after a turnover at the Michigan blueline The Wolverines responded the very next shift when Dylan Duke potted his team s 5th goal however the play was reviewed for offsides While a Michigan player had entered the zone before the puck it was unclear whether or not an AIC player had shot the puck into the zone While it appeared that Michigan had caused the puck to cross the blueline the video was ruled inconclusive and the goal was allowed to stand AIC continued to play hard forcing Michigan to take consecutive penalties in the middle of the period but weren t able to capitalize on their opportunities Michigan tried to play a sleepy third period and bleed away the clock but AIC kept playing hard After Garrett Van Wyhe took an inadvisable holding penalty in the middle of the period Bennett found himself alone in front of the net and slid the puck around Portillo Near the end of the game after the Yellow Jackets pulled their goaltender Nick Blankenburg cross checked Elijiah Barriga into the board from behind There was some concern that the Michigan captain might receive a suspension for the hit and miss the team s next game 9 Ranking editMain article 2021 22 NCAA Division I men s ice hockey rankings USCHO edit Team Pre 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 FinalAir Force NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NRAmerican International 20 NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR 18 18Army NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NRBentley NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NRCanisius NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NRHoly Cross NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NRMercyhurst NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NRNiagara NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NRRIT NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NRSacred Heart NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NRUSCHO did not release a poll in week 24 10 USA Today edit Team Pre 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 FinalAir Force NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NRAmerican International NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NRArmy NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NRBentley NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NRCanisius NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NRHoly Cross NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NRMercyhurst NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NRNiagara NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NRRIT NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NRSacred Heart NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR 11 Pairwise edit Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 FinalAir Force 14 46 28 41 49 53 51 51 58 53 51 52 52 49 44 47 48 51 46 49 48 45 43American International 14 12 50 53 43 39 37 34 31 30 30 27 25 20 18 21 19 21 21 23 24 22 20Army 14 24 44 47 46 44 48 41 44 43 35 39 39 40 43 41 41 39 37 40 40 42 42Bentley 14 39 20 33 36 32 38 38 36 28 31 32 35 37 33 34 40 43 44 44 42 45 43Canisius 14 16 35 32 33 32 29 31 30 31 34 34 36 36 37 36 35 37 31 36 37 39 39Holy Cross 14 22 45 43 47 51 57 58 52 52 53 53 54 53 54 52 53 52 55 51 53 51 51Mercyhurst 14 49 37 38 37 46 49 47 38 43 45 49 47 47 51 51 51 48 45 44 41 39 39Niagara 14 49 53 52 52 52 50 52 51 51 50 48 49 52 50 50 46 46 47 44 50 50 50RIT 14 18 33 34 34 38 45 37 33 32 43 44 43 42 40 39 37 39 39 38 39 38 38Sacred Heart 14 35 34 31 35 42 46 44 35 38 36 35 32 38 36 37 37 34 37 34 35 35 35Note teams ranked in the top 10 automatically qualify for the NCAA tournament Teams ranked 11 16 can qualify based upon conference tournament results 12 Awards editAtlantic Hockey edit Award 13 RecipientPlayer of the Year Chris Theodore American InternationalRookie of the Year Carter Wilkie RITBest Defensive Forward Jake Stella American InternationalBest Defenseman Zak Galambos American InternationalIndividual Sportsmanship Award Daniel Haider ArmyRegular season Scoring Trophy Colin Bilek ArmyNeil Shea Sacred HeartRegular season Goaltending Award Jake Kucharski American InternationalCoach of the Year Eric Lang American InternationalAll Atlantic Hockey Teams 14 First Team Position Second TeamJacob Barczewski Canisius G Gavin Abric ArmyZak Galambos American International D Anthony Firriolo ArmyDrew Bavaro Bentley D Logan Britt Sacred HeartChris Theodore American International F Keaton Mastrodonato CanisiusColin Bilek Army F Neil Shea Sacred HeartWill Calverley RIT F Jake Stella American InternationalThird Team Position Rookie TeamJake Kucharski American International G Tommy Scarfone RITBrandon Koch Air Force D Luis Lindner American InternationalDavid Melaragni Canisius D Mitchell Digby Air ForceBraeden Tuck Sacred Heart F Carter Wilkie RITCarson Briere Mercyhurst F Clayton Cosentino Air ForceRyan Leibold Holy Cross F Shane Ott NiagaraConference tournament edit Tournament MVPBlake Bennett American InternationalAll Tournament TeamPlayer Pos TeamAlec Calvaruso G American InternationalBrandon Koch D Air ForceZak Galambos D American InternationalBlake Bennett F American InternationalChris Dodero F American InternationalWill Gavin F Air ForceReferences edit Composite Schedule Atlantic Hockey Retrieved August 30 2021 Benz Tim Robert Morris hockey players mourn loss of men s and women s teams lash out at administration Trib Live Retrieved May 28 2021 Robert Morris hockey programs on hold until at least 2022 23 season Pittsburgh Tribune Review August 12 2021 Retrieved August 13 2021 Atlantic Hockey votes no on expansion UAH Chargers July 12 2021 Retrieved August 30 2021 Holy Cross names Bill Riga head men s ice hockey coach Holy Cross Crusaders May 4 2021 Retrieved August 21 2021 Men s Ice Hockey Coaching Records PDF NCAA 2015 Retrieved March 9 2016 2021 2022 Men s Ice Hockey Conference Statistics Atlantic Hockey Retrieved September 14 2021 2021 2022 Men s Ice Hockey Conference Statistics Atlantic Hockey Retrieved September 14 2021 AIC 3 Michigan 5 F USCHO Retrieved March 24 2022 USCHO Division I Men s Poll USCHO com Retrieved November 26 2019 USA Today Men s Poll USCHO com Retrieved November 26 2019 Men s Division I PairWise Rankings USCHO com Retrieved November 26 2019 Atlantic Hockey Announces 2021 22 Regular season Awards Atlantic Hockey March 17 2022 Retrieved March 17 2022 Atlantic Hockey Announces 2021 22 All Conference Teams Atlantic Hockey March 16 2022 Retrieved March 16 2022 External links editOfficial website Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title 2021 22 Atlantic Hockey season amp oldid 1185976191, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
