We remain in a period of intense change in college hockey, and Atlantic Hockey America is no exception.
Besides the changing landscape of college athletics in general and college hockey in particular, the AHA also has some new faces and a new(ish) playoff format.
Last things first
With the departure of American International, Atlantic Hockey America is again at 10 teams, so the conference tournament is being adjusted. The top six teams in the final standings will receive a first-round bye, while the bottom four teams will play down to two in single elimination games before best of three quarterfinals and semifinals, leading to a winner-take-all championship game.
The play-in games are now midweek, reducing the number of weekends in the tournament from four to three.
“Our postseason was incredibly long,” said commissioner Michelle Morgan. “In fact, the longest, I believe, in any of our other peer leagues. This year, we’ve tweaked some things a little bit, and so that playoff structure will span over three weeks, previously four.”
Greetings and farewell
Two legendary coaches retired at the end of last season. Army West Points Brian Riley (21 years) and Rochester Institute of Technology’s Wayne Wilson (25 years) have moved on, succeeded by Zach McKelvie and Matt Thomas, both alums of their respective schools.
Mercyhurst’s Rick Gotkin (38 years) has announced his retirement at the end of the season. Assistant coach Tom Peffall has been tabbed as his successor.
In the House
As a result of the House vs. NCAA settlement, Division I colleges can now pay student-athletes directly, with some conditions, including a hard cap on roster size. For hockey, the roster limit under the settlement is 26.
The existing NCAA limit for scholarships in hockey is 18. Under the conditions of the House settlement, for teams opting in, there is no limit on scholarships, but the overall roster limit is 26.
Schools can decide to opt in or out. As it stands, Robert Morris, Niagara, Sacred Heart and Canisius have opted in. As a result, they must begin to ramp down their roster sizes. But will they begin paying players? Probably not immediately.
“It feels like it’s taken 20 plus years for any change and now all this change is happening at once,” said Canisius coach Trevor Large. “So when our administration looks at these things in detail, when we decided to opt in the real reason for all of those things is you know first and foremost, we want to be able to provide the best opportunity for our players to take advantage of anything that’s happening.”
“Eventually (for schools that opt in), everybody’s going have to be at 26,” said Robert Morris coach Derek Schooley. “We’re allowed to have some student-athletes stay on a roster to keep it at 29 (for now).
“I think you’re eventually going to have to play with the smaller roster. You’re gonna have to make sure there’s no recruiting mistakes. You’re going have to do a better job recruiting. And you’re going have to do a lot of different things because of a smaller roster.”
Paying players may be something larger programs will do immediately, but for smaller schools and programs, it will be an option for the future.
“It really is not going to affect us in the near term,” said Schooley. “Maybe down the road.”
The talent drain continues
Each season, several top players in Atlantic Hockey enter the transfer portal, and this year is no different.
The extra year due to the pandemic has expired, so the trend of players transferring for a fifth year is over, but plenty of players with remaining eligibility have made the move to other programs.
Here’s the list of all-conference players from last year, and where they are playing this season:
2024-25 ALL-AHA FIRST TEAM
F Ethan Leyh, Bentley – graduated
F Liam McLinskey, Holy Cross – graduated
F Matthew Wilde, RIT – transferred to Massachusetts
D Mac Gadowsky, Army West Point – transferred to Penn State
D Nick Bochen, Bentley – graduated
G Thomas Gale, Holy Cross – graduated
2024-25 ALL-AHA SECOND TEAM
F Matteo Giampa, Canisius – transferred to Miami
F Trevor Hoskin, Niagara – transferred to Merrimack
F Felix Trudeau, Sacred Heart – returning for his senior year
D Mack Oliphant, Holy Cross – returning for his senior year
D Mikey Adamson, Sacred Heart – returning for his senior year
G Connor Hasley, Bentley – transferred to Arizona State
2024-25 ALL-AHA THIRD TEAM
F Devin Phillips Holy Cross – returning for his senior year
F Jay Ahern, Niagara – graduated
F Tyler Fukakusa, RIT – transferred to Northeastern
D Evan Stella, AIC Karlstad – graduated
D Hunter Sansbury, Sacred Heart – graduated
G Ajeet Gundarah, Sacred Heart – returning for his sophomore year
Out of 18 all-stars, five are returning, seven graduated, and six transferred out of the conference.
The talent drain obviously hurts the league overall, but the addition of CHL players may offset that a bit. Time will tell, but the next few years are going to be interesting as teams adjust.
“Collegiate athletics, the landscape just continues to evolve,” said Air Force coach Frank Serratore.
His Falcons, as well as Army West Point, can’t use the portal and will be limited in their ability recruit from the newly opened CHL pool.
“We’re witnessing a massive paradigm shift, the size of which college hockey’s never seen with the inclusion of the CHL players and the former CHL players via Canadian college and minor pro,” Serratore said. “There’s 60 CHL teams. It’s massive.”
AIR FORCE
HEAD COACH: Frank Serratore (29th season at Air Force)
LAST SEASON: 16-21-3, 11-13-2 (7th) in Atlantic Hockey
KEY RETURNING PLAYERS: D Chris Hedden (Sr., 11g-15a-26pts); F Brendan Gibbons (Jr., 9g-9a-18pts); D Nolan Cunningham (Jr., 5g-13a-18pts); F Sam Stiltz (So., 8g-8a-16pts)
KEY LOSSES: G Guy Blessing (15-21-3), 2.48 GAA, .907 SV%); F Clayton Consentino (9g-20a-28pts); F Austin Schwartz (12g-9a-21pts)
KEY ADDITIONS: F Cole Christian (Anchorage, NAHL); D Calvin Beard (Powell, BCHL); D Nate Ferrell (Wisconsin, NAHL); F Oliver Genest (New Hampshire, NAHL).
2025-26 PREDICTION: Falcons coach Frank Serratore says that his team has more depth than the past few seasons, with one glaring exception. Three-year starter Guy Blessing has graduated, leaving a wide-open competition in net between five goalies currently on the roster.
“Do you know why I have five goalies? Because I don’t have six,” said Serratore. “If a goalie can’t always win games for us, just finding a guy that’s not gonna lose games for us is a place to start.”
The Falcons will feature 11 newcomers to supplement large sophomore and junior classes.
“We’re deeper this year than we’ve been the last couple of years, but we’re still young,” said Serratore. “Our goal as always is to keep getting better and at the end of the year be the team nobody wants to draw in the playoffs.”
PREDICTED FINISH: Fifth
ARMY WEST POINT
HEAD COACH: Zach McKelvie (1st season)
LAST SEASON: 16-20-2, 14-10-2 (5th) in Atlantic Hockey
KEY RETURNING PLAYERS: G JJ Cataldo (So., 14-14-2, 2.41 GAA, .922 SV%); F Barron Woodring (So., 11g-15a-26pts); F Jack Ivey (So., 10g-15a-25 pts); F Ben Ivey (So, 8g-13a-21pts)
KEY LOSSES: D Mac Gadowsky (16g-26a-42pts); F Joey Baez (7g-9a-16pts); G Evan Szary (2-6-0, 4.29 GAA, .877 SV%)
KEY ADDITIONS: F Billy Batten (Minot, NAHL); D Lukas McCloskey (Wenatchee, WHL); F Jacob Kigi (Chippewa, NAHL); D Liam Chapman (Rochester, NAHL)
2025-26 PREDICTION: It’s a new era at West Point. Zach McKelvie takes over the reins from the retired Brian Riley, ending a run of 75 Years with a member of the Riley family as head coach.
All-American D-Man Mac Gadowsky has transferred out, leaving a big hole in both offense and defense. But the Black Knights return most of their scoring and look to maintain the momentum Army West Point showed down the stretch last season.
“We’re very fortunate that we have eight of our top 10 scores coming back this year,” said McKelvie. “Anybody can win this league. That’s how tight the league is, and we’re certainly excited about our team.
“I think that this group is poised to make a good jump.”
PREDICTED FINISH: Sixth
BENTLEY
HEAD COACH: Andy Jones (3rd season)
LAST SEASON: 23-15-2, 16-9-1 (3rd) in Atlantic Hockey
KEY RETURNING PLAYERS: F Stephen Castagna (Sr., 5g-20a-25pts); F Ryan Manfield (So., 8g-10a-18pts); F Oskar Bakkevig (So., 10g-6a-16pts); F Kellan Hjatarson (8g-8a-16pts)
KEY LOSSES: F Evan Leyh (17g-25a-42pts); D Nick Bochen (9g-21a-30pts); Connor Hasley (21-13-2, 1.96 GAA, .925 SV%)
KEY ADDITIONS: G Lukas Swedin (Minot, NAHL); G Jack Erickson (Colorado, NAHL); F Michael Mesic (Youngstown, USHL); F Alec Lenoard (Owen Sound, OHL)
2025-26 PREDICTION: What do you do for an encore? Fresh off its first playoff title and NCAA appearance, Bentley will need to reload after losing several key pieces of last year’s title team.
“Last year’s team was enjoyable in a lot of ways, and we had a fun journey together,” said coach Andy Jones. “We have a different group this year, so we’re focused on that.”
The Falcons are again picked to finish third in the Preseason Coaches Poll, the same place they ended last year before upsetting Sacred Heart and Holy Cross in the playoffs.
“The parity is high in this league,” said Jones. “And to win, our guys realize that the sacrifice level is high.”
PREDICTED FINISH: Third
CANISIUS
HEAD COACH: Trevor Large (9th season)
LAST SEASON: 12-23-2, 11-13-2 (6th) in Atlantic Hockey
KEY RETURNING PLAYERS: F Trey Funk (Jr., 8g-9a-17pts); F Oliver Tarr (Sr., 8g-7a-15pts); D Dominic Payne (So., 6g-8a-14pts); G Ethan Robinson (Jr.,7-7-0, 2.47 GAA, .913 SV%)
KEY LOSSES: F Matteo Giampa (8g-22a-30pts); F Kyle Haskins (11g-12a-23pts); F Alex Cicero (8g-9a-17pts)
KEY ADDITIONS: G Chase Clark (American International, AHA); F Walter Zacher (Robert Morris, AHA); David Elmy (St. Michael’s, OJHL); Cole Miller (Edmonton, WHL); F Kyan Haldenby (Shreveport, NAHL)
2025-26 PREDICTION: Like most schools in the portal era, there’s a lot of change from year to year at Canisius, and this season is no exception.
The Golden Griffins have 14 new players to supplement 16 returners.
“The reality of this modern age of college hockey is we’re gonna bring in a lot of new (players),” said coach Trevor Large. “So that brings some unknowns. It does bring excitement, because you have some new faces and new opportunities
“What we’re all trying to do this time of year is create a unified group, so as we welcome everybody in.”
Defense will be the big question mark early with just three returning blueliners.
“Our ‘D’ corps is almost brand new,” said Large. “We have six of nine new faces.”
PREDICTED FINISH: Seventh
HOLY CROSS
HEAD COACH: Bill Riga (5th season)
LAST SEASON: 24-14-2, 19-5-2 (1st) in Atlantic Hockey
KEY RETURNING PLAYERS: F Jack Stockfish (Jr.,15g-12a-27pts); Matt DeBoer (Sr., 11g-20a-31pts); F Devin Phillips (Sr., 11g-20a-31pts); D Mack Oliphant (3g-26a-29pts)
KEY LOSSES: F Liam McLinskey (24g-30a-54pts); G Thomas Gale (24-13-2, 2.14 GAA, .927 SV%); D Matt Shatsky (1g-8a-9pts)
KEY ADDITIONS: G Danick Leroux (Rochester, NAHL); D Quinn McCall (Erie, OHL); D Dax Williams (Calgary, WHL); F Noah Eyre (Quinnipiac, ECAC)
2025-26 PREDICTION: Last season was supposed to belong to either Sacred Heart or Holy Cross, but third-place Bentley knocked off the Pioneers in the semifinals and the Crusaders in the championship game.
“Obviously a successful season last year with the wins and the regular season championship,” said coach Bill Riga. “We didn’t reach our ultimate goal of winning the playoff championship and going to the NCAA tournament, so I think that fuels us a little bit.”
There are some big holes to fill, left by All-American forward Liam McLinksey and all-star goalie Thomas Gale. Jack Stockfish, the league’s preseason player of the year is back for his junior campaign.
PREDICTED FINISH: Second
MERCYHURST
HEAD COACH: Rick Gotkin (38th season)
LAST SEASON: 4-27-4, 4-19-3 (11th) in Atlantic Hockey
KEY RETURNING PLAYERS: F Riley Fitzgerald (So., 7g-7a-14pts); F Ryan Coughlin (Sr., 5g-10a-15pts); D Trent Sambrook (Jr.,0g-11a-11pts); G Simon Bucheler (Jr., 2-9-0, 4.41 GAA. .877 SV%)
KEY LOSSES: F Mickey Burns (710g-11a-21pts); F Steven Agriogianis (8g-13a-21pts); D Dustin Geregach (7a, 14a-21pts); F Boris Skalos (5g-9a-14pts); G Carter McPhail 2-14-3, 3.44 GAA, .910 SV%)
KEY ADDITIONS: G Charles-Edward Graval (Prince George, BCHL); D Lucas Klemm (Johnstown, NAHL); Will Schumacher (Victoria, BCHL); D Jacob LeBlanc (North Bay, OHL); F Andrew LeBlanc (North Bay, OHL)
2025-26 PREDICTION: The Lakers will again be young again this season as they try to get out of the basement in the standings.
“Last year for us was very disappointing,” said coach Rick Gotkin, who will retire at the end of this season, his 38th at Mercyhurst. “Ending up last in our conference. We felt like we were really close last year in so many ways of getting over the hump, but we didn’t.
“We’re hoping that’s going to fuel some of our guys, or a lot of our guys, to take that next step as a program,”
Former assistant coach Tom Peffall will take over as head coach next season.
“Mercyhurst’s made a terrific hire in Tom,” said Gotkin. “He’s grabbed the reins. I’m really excited about the staff that he’s put together and I’m excited about the players that we have here, both returning and incoming.”
2025-26 PREDICTED FINISH: Tenth
NIAGARA
HEAD COACH: Jason Lammers (9th season)
LAST SEASON: 18-16-3, 15-9-2 (4th) in Atlantic Hockey
KEY RETURNING PLAYERS: F Glebs Prohorenkovs (Sr., 9g-22a-31pts); F Noah Hackett (Sr., 11g-7a-18pts); D Ross Roloson (Jr., 3g-11a-14pts); F Spencer Young (So., 7g-5a-12pts)
KEY LOSSES: F Jay Ahearn (19g-20a-39pts); F Trevor Hoskin (12g-27a-39pts) F Shane Ott (9g-25a-34pts); F Tyler Wallace(14g-12a-26pts)
KEY ADDITIONS: F Maxim Muranov (Vancouver, WHL); G Tomas Anderson (Bismark, NAHL); F Narshall Finnie (Edmonton, WHL); Jacob Maillet (St. Francis Xavier, USports); F Tyson Zimmer (Vernon, BCHL)
2025-26 PREDICTION: The Purple Eagles lost a lot of firepower to graduation and the transfer portal, including four of their top five scorers from last season. Coach Jason Lammers said scoring will need to come from many options.
“I think something that we’ve always tried to build our teams on is doing it by committee,” said Lammers. “We just are big believers here that the university and our team is the star. That we don’t necessarily have a star.”
The Purple Eagles open the season with five non-conference games, the first three at home.
“I like opening with some non-conference games,” said Lammers. “They will prepare us well for league play.”
PREDICTED FINISH: Fourth
ROCHESTER INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
HEAD COACH: Matt Thomas (1st season)
LAST SEASON: 10-23-2, 9-15-1 (9th) in Atlantic Hockey
KEY RETURNING PLAYERS: F Chriatian Catalano (Jr., 7g-16a-23pts); D Xavier Lapointe (Sr., 5g-10a-15pts); F Simone Isabelle (7g-7a-14pts); G Jakub Krbecek (5-12-1, 3.86 GAA, .893 SV%)
KEY LOSSES: F Tyler Fukakusa (9g-27a-33pts); F Matthew Wilde (18g-14a-32pts); F Tanner Andrew (7g-9a-16pts); D Dimitri Microgiannakis (4g-7a-11pts)
KEY ADDITIONS: F Alex Christopoulos (St. Francis Xavier, USports); F Evan Konyen (Flint, OHL); F Boris Skalos (Mercyhurst, AHA); D Ben Roger (St. Mary’s, USports); F Camden Bajzer (Cowichan VAlley, BCHL); G Colin Mackenzie (Ottawa, OHL)
2025-26 PREDICTION: Last season the Tigers went from the penthouse to nearly the basement in Atlantic Hockey, finishing in ninth after two consecutive regular season titles.
The portal hasn’t been kind to RIT, which again saw a number of all-stars leave for opportunities in other conferences.
But it’s a new day with a new coach as alum Matt Thomas returns to take over from the retired Wayne Wilson, who led the Tigers for 26 years.
“I’m really grateful for the opportunity to return to my alma mater,” said Thomas, who graduated in 1998 when RIT was still in Division III. “The campus has certainly changed.”
The Tigers will welcome 11 new players, including five with OHL experience. This will be the first season that CHL players can play NCAA hockey.
“(Recruiting from the OHL) will be something that will continue,” said Thomas. “We’re looking for the best fit for our program and the best players that are going help represent us, and I think we can do a good job in the OHL with that.”
PREDICTED FINISH: Eighth
ROBERT MORRIS
HEAD COACH: Derek Schooley (20th season)
LAST SEASON: 10-20-5, 7-15-4 (10th) in Atlantic Hockey
KEY RETURNING PLAYERS: F Tanner Klimpke (Jr., 10g-13a-23pts); D Michael Craig (Jr., 5g-19a-24pts); F Michael Felsing (So., 7g-15a-22pts); F Cameron Garvey (Jr., 7g-15a-22pts); G Croix Kochendorfer (So., 7-12-3, 2.95 GAA, .906 SV%)
KEY LOSSES: F Walter Zacher (15g-9a-24pts); F Mitch Deelstra (12g-5a-17pts); F Gavin Gulash (5g-2a-7pts)
KEY ADDITIONS: D Rasmus Larsson (Northern Michigan, CCHA); F Dario Beljo (American International, AHA); F Julian Beaumont (Bismark, NAHL); D John Babcock (Regina, OHL); G Charlie Schenkel (Kingston, OHL)
2025-26 PREDICTION: The Colonials have struggled since the program returned two seasons ago, but coach Derek Schooley says he thinks his team is ready to take the next step, despite being picked to finish ninth in the preseason poll.
“You know, I think that we, our team, is being underestimated a little bit, just because of restarting the program,” said Schooley.
“I think we’ve got a really solid group, and our goal is to finish a lot higher than what the coaches picked. “(A low ranking) can fuel your fire to make you better and make you more prepared. We really like our group.”
PREDICTED FINISH: Ninth
SACRED HEART
HEAD COACH: C.J. Marottolo (17th season)
LAST SEASON: 21-13-5, 16-7-3 (2nd) in Atlantic Hockey
KEY RETURNING PLAYERS: G Ajeet Gundarah (16-7-3, 1.90 GAA, .939 SV%); F Felix Trudeau (Sr.,15g-23a-38pts); F Reid Pabich (Sr., 13g-15a-28pts); D Mikey Adamson (Sr., 12g-15a-27pts)
KEY LOSSES: F John Jaworski (13g-18a-31pts); F Max Dorrington (12g-10a-22pts); D Hunter Sansbury (6g-15a-21pts); F Tyler Ghirardosi (8g-11a-19pts); F Max Geurra 7g-12a-19pts)
KEY ADDITIONS: F Joshua Barnes (American International, AHA); D Liam Lesakowski (Maine, HEA); F Gavin Bryan (Peterborough, OHL); F Jack Hiller (New Jersey, NAHL); D Noah Ellis (Omaha, NCHC); G Teagan Kendrick (Trail, BCHL); F Stephane Huard (McGill, USports)
2025-26 PREDICTION: Sacred Heart is picked to finish first in the preseason poll, so CJ Marottolo’s team will have a target on their backs as they chase what has been an elusive regular season title. The Pioneer finished second last season and third the previous two campaigns.
“There was a lot of good to take away from last year,” said Marottolo. “We’re not gonna try to reinvent the wheel this year with our group. We’re just gonna try to push this group to be a couple more degrees better in different areas of our game. We have a terrific core coming back, and all the incoming players have really fit in flawlessly.”
The Pioneers are looking for the same and more from sophomore goalie Ajeet Gundarah, who posted a .929 save percentage as a rookie.
“I feel there’s another level in his game that we haven’t seen yet,” said Marottolo. “He’s just so consistent. We think he could be one of the best goalies in college hockey this year, and we’re gonna rely on him. He’ll be the backbone of our team.”
PREDICTED FINISH: First
