Atlantic Hockey Release

BROOKVILLE, N.Y. - The Atlantic Hockey Association announced the start of the 2020-21 season Thursday, and a part of that announcement was the revelation that LIU men's ice hockey will be a schedule partner of the Atlantic Hockey institutions. While not eligible to compete in the league's postseason tournament, the Sharks will be able to face off against some of the East Coast's best hockey programs in their inaugural season.

To mitigate some of the risk factors regarding COVID-19 exposure during travel, Atlantic Hockey has separated the league into eastern and western pods, with Air Force standing alone as the geographic outlier. The eastern pod is made up of AIC, Army, Bentley, Holy Cross, and Sacred Heart. The western pod consists of Canisius, Mercyhurst, Niagara, RIT, and Robert Morris. All teams will play five games against each pod member (20 total games), play Air Force for a pair of games (2) for 22 league games, and then play a two-game set against LIU, who is being worked in as a scheduling partner for the 2020-21 season. Air Force will play each team twice and add in the Sharks for four games, two home and two on the road.

"We could not be more excited to open our inaugural season by partnering with the Atlantic Hockey Association for this scheduling agreement," head coach Brett Riley said. "This agreement is a monumental moment for our program, and will allow us to play a competitive schedule in our opening season of Division I hockey. I would like to thank Commissioner Robert DeGregorio and all of the AHA's coaches and administrators for including us as an independent, which will allow our program to get off the ground in a safe and exciting setting."

Atlantic Hockey has announced that the 2020-21 season will officially begin on the weekend of November 13-14, 2020. The schedule features 24 games and allows for up to 28 games for our member institutions.

"First off, I'm extremely excited to be announcing we have an approved league schedule for the 2020-21 season. It's been a long process, and involved quite a bit of discussion, but it's a testament to all those involved that we have managed to get Atlantic Hockey on the ice in 2020-21," said Commissioner Robert DeGregorio. "We put this schedule together to maximize the student-athlete experience during such uncertain times. We found a way to schedule up to 28 games while maintaining a focus on the health and safety of all parties by reducing travel times and overnight trips as much as we could."

Atlantic Hockey is still working to finalize the return-to-play protocols for the season, but LIU has agreed to abide by all protocols for the 2020-21 season, including testing, screening, sanitization, and other preventative measures outlined in the document.
 
The full 2020-21 Atlantic Hockey schedule, with scheduled non-conference games, will be released at a later date.