The AHA tournament is the conference tournament for the Atlantic Hockey Association. The winner of the tournament receives an automatic berth into the NCAA Division I men's ice hockey tournament.
| AHA men's ice hockey tournament | |
|---|---|
| Conference hockey championship | |
| Sport | Ice hockey |
| Conference | Atlantic Hockey Association |
| Format | Single-elimination / best two-of-three tournament |
| Current stadium | LECOM Harborcenter |
| Current location | Buffalo, New York |
| Played | 2004-present |
| Last contest | 2024 Atlantic Hockey Tournament |
| Current champion | American International |
| Most championships | Air Force (7) |
| Winner trophy | Riley Trophy |
| Official website | Atlantic Hockey Online |
The tournament was first held in 2004 after the cessation of the MAAC men's ice hockey tournament, the first year of conference play. The final four games were held at Tate Rink in West Point, New York in 2004. The tournament championship moved to the Northford Ice Pavilion in Northford, Connecticut for 2005, then to the Hart Center in Worcester, Massachusetts for 2006. Starting with the 2007 tournament, the final four was moved to a neutral site, the Blue Cross Arena in Rochester, New York, the home of the AHL's Rochester Americans.[1] Starting in 2023, all tournament games were moved to campus sites, hosted by the higher seeds of each matchup.
AHA Men's Ice Hockey Tournament champions
Championships by season
| Year | Regular Season Champion | Tournament Champion | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | Holy Cross | Holy Cross | Atlantic Hockey Association founded by American International, Army, Bentley, Canisius, Connecticut, Holy Cross, Mercyhurst, Quinnipiac and Sacred Heart |
| 2005 | Quinnipiac | Mercyhurst | Final AHA season for Quinnipiac, (leaving for the ECAC) |
| 2006 | Holy Cross | Holy Cross | |
| 2007 | RIT | Air Force | Air Force and RIT join the AHA |
| 2008 | Army | Air Force | |
| 2009 | RIT Air Force | Air Force | |
| 2010 | RIT | RIT | |
| 2011 | RIT | Air Force | Niagara and Robert Morris join the AHA |
| 2012 | Air Force | Air Force | |
| 2013 | Niagara | Canisius | |
| 2014 | Mercyhurst | Robert Morris | Final AHA season for Connecticut, (leaving for Hockey East) |
| 2015 | Robert Morris | RIT | |
| 2016 | Robert Morris | RIT | |
| 2017 | Canisius | Air Force | |
| 2018 | Mercyhurst | Air Force | |
| 2019 | American International | American International | |
| 2020 | American International | None | Tournament cancelled after quarterfinals due to COVID-19 pandemic |
| 2021 | American International | American International | |
| 2022 | American International | American International | |
| 2023 | RIT | Canisius | |
| 2024 | RIT | RIT |
Formats
- 2004-2005
The AHA Tournament format begins as a single-game elimination three-round format, with an additional play-in game for the teams the finished eighth and ninth.
- 2006
After Quinnipiac leaves to join the ECAC, the 8-team conference drops the play-in game from the tournament.
- 2007
With Air Force and RIT joining the conference, but with RIT's ineligibility for the conference tournament, a play-in game was added for one year.
- 2008
The opening round becomes a best-of-three with 5 separate series played between all ten of the conference teams with the two remaining lowest-seeded teams playing in a final-five game to determine the last semifinalist. All series after the opening round are single-elimination.
- 2009-2010
The four lowest-seeded teams play two play-in games to determine the final two qualifiers for the quarterfinals.
- 2011
With Niagara and Robert Morris joining the conference, the tournament was expanded to have four rounds. The tournament competitors were split into two groups: 'East' and 'West', and each group was arranged to play so that the top two finishers for each group received a bye into the quarterfinals while the remaining four teams in each group played single-elimination games to advance to the quarterfinals. The quarterfinals remained a best-of-three format while the final four stayed as single-elimination games.
- 2012-2013
The 'East' and 'West' groupings were dropped and the opening round became a best-of-three series with the top four finishers receiving byes into the quarterfinals.
- 2023
The tournament was shortened to three rounds, with the top eight finishers all appearing in the quarterfinal round. Two best-of-three semifinal series and the AHA championship game were all moved to campus sites and hosted by the higher seed in each matchup.
- 2024
With Robert Morris rejoining the conference, the tournament was once again expanded to four rounds to include all eleven teams. The top five finishers all received a first round bye while play-in games were held among the remaining six teams to determine the final three quarterfinals participants.
Championship appearances
By coach
| No. | Coach | Record | Pct |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8 | Frank Serratore | 7–1 | .875 |
| 6 | Wayne Wilson | 4–2 | .667 |
| 5 | Rick Gotkin | 1–4 | .200 |
| 4 | Eric Lang | 3–1 | .750 |
| 4 | Derek Schooley | 1–3 | .250 |
| 2 | Paul Pearl | 2–0 | 1.000 |
| 2 | Trevor Large | 1–1 | .500 |
| 2 | Dave Smith | 1–1 | .500 |
| 1 | C. J. Marottolo | 0–1 | .000 |
| 1 | Shaun Hannah | 0–1 | .000 |
| 1 | Jason Lammers | 0–1 | .000 |
| 1 | Rand Pecknold | 0–1 | .000 |
| 1 | Ryan Soderquist | 0–1 | .000 |
| 1 | Brian Riley | 0–1 | .000 |
MAAC
The MAAC founded its hockey sponsorship starting in 1997 due to NCAA regulations that required all Division I conferences to participate in all Division sports. At the founding of the MAAC hockey conference, only three of the eight founding teams were full members of the conference (Canisius, Fairfield, Iona). The MAAC began play starting with the 1998-99 season and quickly added two additional teams (Mercyhurst and Bentley) the following year. Army joined the conference for the 2000-01 season, bringing the conference up to eleven member teams. At the conclusion of the 2002-03 season Fairfield and Iona both discontinued their men's ice hockey programs, and while the conference's remaining nine teams could continue without them, having only one full member necessitated the folding of the MAAC hockey conference as the eight associate members had no vote for the legislation the conference passed. The following year all of the teams continued their programs in the newly formed Atlantic Hockey conference.[4]