ATLANTIC COAST COLLEGIATE HOCKEY LEAGUE

COLLEGE HOCKEY SOUTH

COLLEGE HOCKEY SOUTH (CHS) ANNOUNCED A MAJOR NAME CHANGE AND REBRAND DURING ITS 14TH SEASON IN 2021-22. FORMERLY KNOWN AS THE SOUTH EASTERN COLLEGIATE HOCKEY CONFERENCE (SECHC), THE LEADERSHIP GROUP ANNOUNCED THE NAME CHANGE FOR THE PURPOSE OF BEING MORE INCLUSIVE TO ALL MEMBER TEAMS DUE TO HALF OF THE MEMBER TEAMS NOT BEING FROM SEC SCHOOLS. 

​THE CHS COMPETED IN ONE DIVISION FOR SCHEDULING PURPOSES IN 2021-22 TO ASSIST TEAMS RETURNING FROM COVID-19 RESTRICTIONS. CHS WILL RETURN TO THE 3-DIVISION FORMAT DURING THE 2022-23 SEASON. 

​The top-8 teams advanced to the CHS Playoffs on 4-6 March 2022 at the Huntsville Ice Sports Center-Huntsville, Alabama with The University of Georgia winning their 4th conference championship after an exciting 4-2 win over Florida Atlantic University. 

​The 19 CHS teams prior to the start of the 2022-23 season are Alabama (Joined CHS 2008-09) Conference championships 1 (2011-12) Auburn (Joined CHS: 2010-11), Florida (Joined CHS: 2008-09), Georgia (Joined CHS: 2008-09), Conference Championships 4 (2016, 2017, 2019, 2022) Ole Miss (Joined CHS 2009-09) Conference Championships 1 (2019-20) South Carolina (Joined CHS: 2008-09), Tennessee (Joined CHS: 2008-09), Conference Championships: 1 (2009) and Vanderbilt (Joined CHS: 2008-09). Alabama-Huntsville, Clemson, Florida Atlantic, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Kennesaw State, Lynn, and Middle Tennessee State joined in the 2019-20 season. The University of Central Florida, The University of South Florida, and The University of Miami joined during the spring of 2022. Beginning in 2021-22, The University of Florida added a second CHS team who will compete as a CHS/CHF D3 program. The University of South Florida will also have a second team competing at the CHS/CHF D3 level. 

​Former CHS member Arkansas (Joined CHS 2008-09) won 6 Conference Championships in 2009-10, 2010-11, 2012-13, 2013-14, 2014-15, and 2017-18. Due to a majority of the CHS teams not being allowed to participate during the 2020-21 season as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, the conference canceled the regular season and subsequently canceled the 2020-21 CHS Playoffs.

​In the inaugural year of 2008-2009, eight teams participated in the CHS Playoffs, hosted by the University of Alabama in Pelham, AL. The teams were seeded by their final rankings within the South region, and by their record within the CHS. Tennessee and Georgia met in the first championship game, with Tennessee, coached by Steve Durrigan taking home the inaugural CHS Playoffs Championship. The original members of the CHS reached out to former longtime assistant coach and business manager of Georgia Tech Hockey, Kenny “Sarge” Day to serve as the first CHS commissioner. Prior to his 10-year coaching career at Georgia Tech; Day also served as Co-head coach of the University of California at Davis Aggies (UC-Davis) for two seasons in 1996-97 and 1997-98. Day served as CHS Commissioner for 8-seasons. Former Tennessee Head Coach Steve Durrigan served as CHS commissioner during the 2016-17 season and former commissioner Justin Bradford served as the CHS leader from the 2017-18 season to the start of the current 2021-22 season. During the 2021-22 season, former NHL executive with the NY Rangers and Florida Panthers (and former ECHL executive of the year), Matt Loughran served as acting commissioner until the completion of the 2021-22 season. Kyle Knell, a former standout University of Tennessee hockey player (top 10 leading scorers) was appointed by the CHS board of directors to serve as CHS commissioner for the 2022-23 and 2023-24 seasons.   

​The CHS Championship Cup is named for Sarge Day who continues to serve the conference as Commissioner Emeritus, and Director of Hockey Operations. The conference is further served by John Camp as Assistant Commissioner, David Brooks as the CHS Chief Financial Officer, Dr. Ted Curtis (Lynn University) as the conference’s legal advisor and Hana Donnelly serves to update multiple social media platforms such as the CHS website, Facebook and Twitter accounts. 

As the CHS continues to expand and grow its fan base, teams are seeking out larger and more exciting venues; conference games and the championship playoffs are becoming sought-after events. The CHS has hosted its conference championship playoffs in Pelham, AL at the Pelham Ice Complex; Columbus, GA at the Columbus Civic Center; Huntsville, AL at the former Benton H. Wilcoxon Municipal Ice Complex and at the Ford Ice Centers at both Antioch, TN, and Bellevue, TN respectfully. (Co-sponsored by the Nashville Predators). Additionally, CHS teams play games in exciting areas such as the Bridgestone Arena, Ford Ice Centers, Von Braun Center, Knoxville Coliseum, Mid-South Ice House, the Pavilion, Palm Beach Ice Works, Florida Panthers Ice Den, Advent Health Center Ice, DeSoto Civic Center, Clearwater Ice Arena, Lexington Ice Center, the Savannah Civic Center and soon, the brand new Savannah EnMarket  Arena, among others. In the spring of 2014, The Classic Center Exhibition Hall with a seating capacity exceeding 2,000 became the University of Georgia’s new home arena in Athens, GA becoming the first on-campus hockey facility specifically constructed for a CHS hockey program. 

​We are extremely proud of our outstanding student-athletes, coaches, volunteers, interns, family members, club sports and rec sports directors, and fans of our 19-member teams.   

​And remember…“You Can’t Step out of Bounds in Hockey!”

DELAWARE VALLEY COLLEGIATE HOCKEY CONFERENCE

The DVCHC is fast approaching its 50th Anniversary representing member teams from the Mid Atlantic and North East Regions.  The purpose and goals of this league are to provide for organized, safe, competitive, and affordable collegiate hockey experience for non-scholarship student-athletes, among colleges, universities, and community colleges in the Delaware Valley and surrounding areas. In the early 1970s (probably 1971): Brian Schnarr (Bryn Athyn College), Finbarr O’Connor (St Joseph’s University) and Paul Saylor (West Chester College) co-founded the DVCHC (called Delaware Collegiate Hockey League in 1971). The league consisted of six teams in the first season (1971-1972): Bryn Athyn College, LaSalle, St Joseph’s University, University of Delaware, Villanova, and West Chester all played at the DII level. The 1971-1972 season was just a regular series without play-offs (BAC and West Chester finished first with exactly the same record and therefore shared the first championship) in its inaugural season.  In the past 49 years, the DVCHL had many changes in the geographic coverage area, team changes, levels of play, Divisional Breakdowns, and built a Women’s Division. In early 1979’s the DVCHL became the Delaware Valley Collegiate Hockey Conference (DVCHC), and changed again most recently in 2019 to the Delaware Valley College Hockey Conference (DVCHC). Enrollment at the schools and universities determined which divisional level each team would be placed in (DI, DII, or DIII). 

In 2002 the DVCHC added Women’s hockey to the league as well as a Men’s Division III level as the number of schools/universities increased. The DVCHC Men’s Conference currently offers teams four divisional levels of play based upon team size and goals:  Division II, Division III (National, American, and Patriot divisions).  The DVCHC Women’s Conferences offer Division I, Division II (North and South).  The DVCHC Men’s divisions had previously played in the acha until the membership voted to move to the newly created Collegiate Hockey Federation in 2019. 

EMPIRE COLLEGIATE HOCKEY CONFERENCE

What the Empire Collegiate Hockey Conference and its members have accomplished and what it has provided the larger regional hockey community is nothing short of spectacular. Established in May of 2009, The University of Albany, Farmingdale State College, Hofstra University, Union College, Skidmore College, Southern Connecticut State, and Fairfield University set out to establish an organization committed to providing the most comprehensive hockey experience for the elite division 3 non-varsity collegiate hockey programs in the Atlantic Region. The ECHC provides the framework and structure to support the highest level of growth of its member's hockey programs, through league, team, player, and coach development. Standards of play and the opportunity to compete both regionally and nationally within the CHF are considered paramount.

The ECHC, in accordance with the NCAA, and CHF emphasizes academic performance, institutional sanction, and eligibility criteria, to ensure the highest quality of hockey and curricular integrity. This extremely competitive hockey conference is highly selective about its members and their commitment to maintaining the highest standards of competition. All ECHC teams are required to be members in good standing as tournament-bound teams within the CHF and make continuous strives to improve their hockey program as well as our Conference, and the regional hockey community at large. Since 2009, ECHC teams have represented the Atlantic Region in every ACHA National Tournament; and sent 5 programs to the CHF's inaugural Federation Cup in 2020, and 6 in 2022. The ECHC has had 11 players named to the ACHA National Select Team; 3 ACHA All Americans; 1 National Player of the Year; 1 National Coach of the Year; hosted the 2012 National Championship Tournament; and has hosted and partnered in some of the most competitive non-varsity college showcases in the country, “The Empire Classic and the Invitational”.

In the fall of 2019, the Empire Collegiate Hockey Conference welcomed Ramapo College, Hofstra University, Fordham University, and Stony Brook University to its family, solidifying the conference as the premier conference in the Collegiate Hockey Federation. In the spring of 2022, the Empire Collegiate Hockey Conference expand its ranks once again, with the addition of the University of New Haven, Sacred Heart University, and Farmingdale State's Division 3 team. This new expansion, and the unwavering goal of creating the most dynamic hockey experience for our members, led the Empire to create a second division to ensure competitive balance and integrity for its members. In February of 2023, the Empire Collegiate Hockey Conference will Crown to Conference Champions for the very first time.

NEW ENGLAND INDEPENDENT HOCKEY CONFERENCE

The NEIHC was built on a promise. A promise between men who love the game of hockey and who will do whatever it takes to make great things happen for their programs and players.

Massachusetts Maritime Academy (Buzzards Bay MA) and Nichols College (Dudley MA) are founding members of the CHF. In that initial season, the brand new CHF had a limited number of programs in the New England states. CHF Deputy Commissioner Jay Turcotte worked with Coaches Josh Tefft at Mass Maritime and Lawrence Larsson at Nichols to help them build a schedule of games for the season. It was a difficult task with limited CHF opponents and other college club programs restricted by their governing bodies. That initial season was played by both programs with fewer games than either desired.

Turcotte was frustrated at not being able to help these two dedicated programs realize their desired schedules. He spoke to Tefft and Larsson, “I promise I’ll build you a conference for next season”, Turcotte said. Big promise, but it set wheels in motion towards today’s NEIHC.

Turcotte reached out to other commissioners and programs he’d spoken with before who expressed a desire to build something new and good to see who he could contact about the NEIHC. Matt Baldino, Head Coach at Rhode Island College was the first to reach out to Turcotte. Coach Baldino was excited about a New England Conference and wanted to be part from the git-go. From this point on it became a team effort between Turcotte, Tefft, Baldino, and Larsson. Turcotte continued to reach out to unattached programs regarding the new conference. Tefft, Larsson, and Baldino reached out to teams and coaches they knew who might be interested. They put them in contact with Turcotte for all the pertinent conference and CHF information. The NEIHC was taking shape with members, Rhode Island College, Mass Maritime, Nichols, Babson, Quincy, and Middlesex Community College for the 2020-2021 season. Then hockey disaster struck across the country.

The Covid-19 pandemic ground the conference to a sharp halt. New England and its schools were particularly hard hit. The 2020-2021 hockey season was a bust. The NEIHC felt a particular sting, All of the conference schools put a halt on their club hockey seasons, with 2 schools Middlesex CC and Rhode Island College halting their programs until further review. The promise, however, will not be denied.

The NEIHC is alive and well for 2021-2022. Babson, Mass Maritime, Nichols, and Quincy are back on track. New members Anna Maria College and New England College bring the team compliment back up to six. In addition, potential new members in Brown University and Albertus Magnus College are waiting on approval from their schools to join. Original members Middlesex CC (on hold until 2022-2023) and Rhode Island College (pending school review) are still in play. The search continues for new members to continue to fulfill “the promise”.

UPSTATE NEW YORK COLLEGIATE HOCKEY LEAGUE

The league was founded by Andrew Musto in 2006 with the purpose of creating a league that is a low-cost alternative to higher-cost leagues. The league continues to meet this commitment, being one of the lowest-cost leagues in the U.S. The league's 15th anniversary will be in 2021.

At the end of the 2016-17 season, Musto stepped down as commissioner and appointed Jon Marchese the new commissioner. The UNYCHL opened its 11th season with the biggest expansion in its history, growing to 23 teams. Marchese continues to grow the league, reaching into Pennsylvania, and relegates teams to the lower league based on team's wishes. Nothing is done without team consent.

The league also organizes a second-tier league called UNYCHL Tier 2, which launched with the 2018-19 season. This tier is for new programs in an effort to "provide local area teams an avenue to play competitive hockey while minimizing budgetary impacts and reducing travel costs."

The league now stands at 20 in the upper division and 8 in the lower division. In 2019 – 20 The league joined the Collegiate Hockey Federation. The UNYCHL is committed to the low cost for teams, both in league fees and travel, while providing some of the best club hockey in the region.