2025–26 Atlantic Hockey America men's season
| 2025–26 AHA men's season | |
|---|---|
| Season | 2025–26 |
| Conference | AHA |
| Division | Division I |
| Sport | men's ice hockey |
| Duration | October 3, 2025– March 21, 2026 |
| Number of teams | 10 |
| TV partner(s) | FloHockey |
| Regular season | |
| Atlantic Hockey America Tournament | |
| NCAA tournament | |
| AHA men's seasons « 2024–25 2026–27 » | |
The 2025–26 Atlantic Hockey America men's season will be the 2nd season of play for Atlantic Hockey America and take place during the 2025–26 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey season. The season will begin on October 3, 2025, and the conference tournament is set to concluded on March 21, 2026.
Membership changes
During the previous season, American International announced that they would be downgrading their program to Division II after the season.[1]
Coaches
- Before the previous season, Brian Riley announced that he would be retiring at the end of the season.[2] Army elected to promote assistant coach Zach McKelvie to the position. This ended an unbroken string of the program being led by the Riley family dating back to 1950.
- After the end of the previous season, Wayne Wilson announced his retirement from coaching. RIT brought back alumnus Matt Thomas as the team's new head coach.[3]
Records
| Team | Head coach | Season at school | Record at school | Atlantic Hockey record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Air Force | Frank Serratore | 29 | 472–457–102 | 11–13–2 |
| Army | Zach McKelvie | 1 | 0–0–0 | 0–0–0 |
| Bentley | Andy Jones | 3 | 39–32–4 | 16–9–1 |
| Canisius | Trevor Large | 8 | 112–142–25 | 11–13–2 |
| Holy Cross | Bill Riga | 5 | 74–72–11 | 19–5–2 |
| Mercyhurst | Rick Gotkin | 38 | 611–550–111 | 4–19–3 |
| Niagara | Jason Lammers | 8 | 113–145–27 | 16–9–1 |
| RIT | Matt Thomas | 1 | 0–0–0 | 0–0–0 |
| Robert Morris | Derek Schooley | 20 | 296–320–75 | 7–15–4 |
| Sacred Heart | C. J. Marottolo | 16 | 209–304–60 | 16–7–3 |
Preseason
Coaches were polled prior to the season and asked to both rank member programs as well as vote for an all-conference team.[4] Coaches were not permitted to vote for their own players or teams
Poll
|
Preseason All-AHA
* Preseason Player of the Year. |
Standings
| Conference record | Overall record | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | W | L | T | OW | OL | SW | PTS | GF | GA | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | |||
| Bentley | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 17 | 4 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 23 | 20 | ||
| Holy Cross | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 11 | 18 | 10 | 9 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 25 | 31 | ||
| Sacred Heart | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 11 | 8 | 7 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 15 | 15 | ||
| Robert Morris | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 8 | 5 | 6 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 17 | 27 | ||
| RIT | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 13 | 11 | 7 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 26 | 15 | ||
| Canisius | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 10 | 10 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 24 | 28 | ||
| Army | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 9 | 12 | 7 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 18 | 15 | ||
| Niagara | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 8 | 7 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 19 | 21 | ||
| Air Force | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 12 | 8 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 21 | 33 | ||
| Mercyhurst | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 14 | 9 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 12 | 50 | ||
| Championship: March 21, 2026 † indicates conference regular season champion (DeGregorio Trophy) * indicates conference tournament champion (Riley Trophy) Rankings: USCHO.com Top 20 Poll; updated November 3, 2025 | ||||||||||||||||||
Regular season record
| Team | Big Ten | CCHA | ECAC Hockey | Hockey East | Independent | NCHC | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Air Force | 0–0–0 | 0–0–0 | 0–0–0 | 0–0–0 | 0–0–0 | 0–0–0 | 0–0–0 |
| Army | 0–0–0 | 0–0–0 | 0–0–0 | 0–0–0 | 0–0–0 | 0–0–0 | 0–0–0 |
| Bentley | 0–0–0 | 0–0–0 | 0–0–0 | 0–0–0 | 0–0–0 | 0–0–0 | 0–0–0 |
| Canisius | 0–0–0 | 0–0–0 | 0–0–0 | 0–0–0 | 0–0–0 | 0–0–0 | 0–0–0 |
| Holy Cross | 0–0–0 | 0–0–0 | 0–0–0 | 0–0–0 | 0–0–0 | 0–0–0 | 0–0–0 |
| Mercyhurst | 0–0–0 | 0–0–0 | 0–0–0 | 0–0–0 | 0–0–0 | 0–0–0 | 0–0–0 |
| Niagara | 0–0–0 | 0–0–0 | 0–0–0 | 0–0–0 | 0–0–0 | 0–0–0 | 0–0–0 |
| RIT | 0–0–0 | 0–0–0 | 0–0–0 | 0–0–0 | 0–0–0 | 0–0–0 | 0–0–0 |
| Robert Morris | 0–0–0 | 0–0–0 | 0–0–0 | 0–0–0 | 0–0–0 | 0–0–0 | 0–0–0 |
| Sacred Heart | 0–0–0 | 0–0–0 | 0–0–0 | 0–0–0 | 0–0–0 | 0–0–0 | 0–0–0 |
| Overall | 0–0–0 | 0–0–0 | 0–0–0 | 0–0–0 | 0–0–0 | 0–0–0 | 0–0–0 |
Statistics
Conference tournament
2026 Atlantic Hockey America men's tournament
NCAA tournament
Rankings
USCHO
| Team | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | Final |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Air Force | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Army | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Bentley | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Canisius | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Holy Cross | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Mercyhurst | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Niagara | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| RIT | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Robert Morris | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Sacred Heart | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
Note: USCHO did not release a poll in week 12 or 26.
USA Hockey
| Team | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | Final |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Air Force | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Army | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Bentley | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Canisius | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Holy Cross | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Mercyhurst | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Niagara | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| RIT | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Robert Morris | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Sacred Heart | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
Note: USA Hockey did not release a poll in week 12.
NPI
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | Final |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Air Force | – | – | 41 | – | – | 32 | 42 | 34 | 30 | 38 | 39 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Army | – | – | 9 | – | – | 35 | 48 | 51 | 51 | 47 | 46 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Bentley | – | – | 50 | – | – | 17 | 39 | 38 | 40 | 41 | 41 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Canisius | – | – | 21 | – | – | 37 | 47 | 47 | 49 | 49 | 49 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Holy Cross | – | – | 52 | – | – | 43 | 30 | 21 | 23 | 22 | 22 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Mercyhurst | – | – | 57 | – | – | 63 | 63 | 63 | 63 | 63 | 63 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Niagara | – | – | 28 | – | – | 57 | 49 | 48 | 57 | 54 | 54 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| RIT | – | – | 46 | – | – | 19 | 13 | 20 | 33 | 36 | 37 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Robert Morris | – | – | 44 | – | – | 53 | 56 | 58 | 59 | 57 | 56 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Sacred Heart | – | – | 33 | – | – | 52 | 38 | 37 | 37 | 45 | 44 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
Note: teams ranked in the top-10 automatically qualify for the NCAA tournament. Teams ranked 11-16 can qualify based upon conference tournament results.[5]
References
- ^ "American International to reclassify as Division II beginning with 2025-26 college hockey season". USCHO. November 12, 2024. Retrieved November 12, 2024.
- ^ "Army's Riley the Latest to Announce Retirement". collegehockeynews.com. August 21, 2024. Retrieved August 21, 2024.
- ^ "RIT brings back alum Thomas as head coach". USCHO. April 10, 2025. Retrieved April 10, 2025.
- ^ "Sacred Heart pegged to win 2025-26 Atlantic Hockey America men's title; Holy Cross' Stockfish chosen preseason player of the year". USCHO. September 9, 2025. Retrieved September 16, 2025.
- ^ "Men's Division I PairWise Rankings". USCHO.com. Retrieved November 26, 2019.