2021 Atlantic Hockey men's ice hockey tournament

2021 Atlantic Hockey Men's ice hockey tournament
Dates	March 8–20, 2021
Teams	10
Finals site	MassMutual Center Springfield, Massachusetts
Champions	American International (2nd title)
Winning coach	Eric Lang (2nd title)
MVP	Justin Cole (American International)
Atlantic Hockey Men's Ice Hockey Tournaments ← 2020 2022 →

The 2021 Atlantic Hockey Tournament was the 17th edition of the Atlantic Hockey Tournament. It was played between March 8 and March 20, 2021 entirely at home campus locations. On March 5, 2021, Holy Cross withdrew from the tournament due to a positive COVID test. ^[1] This resulted in Sacred Heart receiving a bye into the quarterfinal round. First Round and Quarterfinal games took place at home venues while Semifinal a Championship games were held at the MassMutual Center, the home of American International. By winning the tournament, American International earned Atlantic Hockey's automatic bid to the 2021 NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament.

Format

The tournament featured four rounds of play. The tournament participants were split into east- and west-brackets. In the first round, after the withdrawal of Holy Cross, the two lowest-seeded teams from each region, as determined by the conference regular season standings, played a single game with the winners advancing to the quarterfinals. The top six teams from the conference regular season standings received byes to the quarterfinals. There, the first seed from each region and the winner of the first round game of the same region and the second and the third seeds of each region will play single-elimination games, with the winners advancing to the semifinals. In the semifinals, the highest remaining seed of each region will play the lower remaining seed of the opposite region in single games, with the winners advancing to the championship game. The tournament champion will receive an automatic bid to the 2021 NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament. ^[2]

Conference standings

2020–21 Atlantic Hockey Standings v t e
	Conference record												Overall record
	GP	W	L	T	OW	OL	SW	PTS	PT%	GF	GA		GP	W	L	T	GF	GA
#15 American International †*	12	11	1	0	1	0	0	32	.889	47	18		19	15	4	0	67	40
Army	15	10	4	1	3	1	1	30	.667	42	33		22	15	6	1	71	48
Robert Morris	15	10	5	0	2	1	0	29	.644	58	48		24	15	9	0	85	69
Canisius	13	8	5	0	1	1	0	24	.615	42	34		17	11	6	0	59	46
RIT	13	7	5	1	0	0	1	23	.590	43	40		20	9	9	2	68	70
Sacred Heart	13	6	6	1	1	2	0	20	.513	35	38		18	6	10	2	43	59
Mercyhurst	16	7	8	1	1	1	1	23	.479	54	50		21	8	12	1	64	67
Bentley	15	4	11	0	1	5	0	16	.356	35	48		16	5	11	0	42	51
Niagara	15	3	9	3	0	2	1	15	.333	39	53		22	7	12	3	57	70
Air Force	13	3	9	1	2	1	0	9	.231	32	49		14	3	10	1	35	56
Holy Cross	12	3	9	0	2	0	0	7	.194	22	38		16	4	12	0	30	52
Championship: March 20, 2021 † indicates conference regular season champion * indicates conference tournament champion (Riley Trophy) Rankings: USCHO.com Top 20 Poll

Bracket

Teams are reseeded for the semifinals

First round March 8–9

Quarterfinals March 12–14

Semifinals March 19

Championship March 20

E1

American International

—

—

—

E4

Bentley

7

E4

Bentley

—

—

—

E5

Air Force

3

East Division

E1

American International

2

W5

Niagara

1

E2

Army

4

4***

—

E3

Sacred Heart

0

3

—

E1

American International

5

W2

Canisius

2

W1

Robert Morris

3*

2

1

W4

Mercyhurst

2

W5

Niagara

2

3**

2

W5

Niagara

3

West Division

E2

Army

3

W2

Canisius

4*

W2

Canisius

5

6

—

W3

RIT

2

2

—

Note: * denotes overtime period(s)

Results

First round

(W4) Mercyhurst vs. (W5) Niagara

March 8, 2021 5:00 PM

Mercyhurst

2 – 3 (1–0, 1–2, 0–1)

Niagara

Mercyhurst Ice Center, Erie, Pennsylvania Attendance: 163

Game reference
	Kyle McClellan	Goalies	Chad Veltri	Referees: Michael Shubert C.J. Hallman Linesmen: Joe Sherman Brendan Lewis
	(Schneider, Kitt) Josh McDougall (1) – 02:45 1–0 (Sheriff, Reifenberger) Carson Brière (5) – 22:07 2–0 2–1 28:42 – PP – Ludwig Stenlund (6) (Evingson, Kendall) 2–2 32:12 – Ryan Cox (7) (Stanley, Edgerton) 2–3 55:53 – GW – Walker Sommer (6) (Herrmann, Stenlund)
	4 min	Penalties	2 min
	31	Shots	35

(E4) Bentley vs. (E5) Air Force

March 9, 2021 5:05 PM

Bentley

7 – 3 (3–2, 2–1, 2–0)

Air Force

Bentley Arena, Waltham, Massachusetts Attendance: 0

Game reference
	Nicholas Grabko	Goalies	Zack LaRocque Alex Schilling	Referees: Brendan Blanchard Ryan Sweeney Linesmen: Bobby Griffin Anthony Valle
	0–1 00:20 – Willie Reim (6) (unassisted) (Villella) Cole Kodsi (1) – 08:40 1–1 (Orysiuk) Jakov Novak (7) – 11:39 2–1 (Schlagenhauf) Joe Winkelmann (1) – 14:17 3–1 3–2 17:39 – PP – Brandon Koch (3) (Levin) 3–3 22:10 – PP – Max Harper (4) (Koch, Horn) (Bavaro, Novak) Brendan Walkom (3) – GW – 32:15 4–3 (Walkom) Matt Gosiewski (6) – PP – 33:46 5–3 (Novak, Walkom) Matt Gosiewski (7) – EN – 58:16 6–3 (Novak) Brendan Walkom (4) – EN – 59:51 7–3
	19 min	Penalties	4 min
	27	Shots	31

Quarterfinals

(E1) American International vs. (E4) Bentley

Bentley withdrew from the tournament due to an increase of COVID-19 positive tests on campus. ^[3] American International received a bye into the semifinal round.

(E2) Army vs. (E3) Sacred Heart

March 12, 2021 5:05 PM

Army

4 – 0 (0–0, 0–0, 4–0)

Sacred Heart

Tate Rink, West Point, New York Attendance: 102

Game reference
	Trevin Kozlowski	Goalies	Luke Lush	Referees: Brendan Blanchard Casey Terreri Linesmen: Anthony Valle Bobby Griffin
	(Farrell, Krueger) Mitch Machlitt (5) – GW – 41:25 1–0 (Butte, Hatten) Ricky Lyle (2) – 45:17 2–0 (Krueger, Machlitt) Colin Bilek (17) – 53:08 3–0 (Zimmerman, Felker) Daniel Haider (2) – 53:30 4–0
	6 min	Penalties	6 min
	34	Shots	30

March 13, 2021 5:05 pm

Army

4 – 3 (3OT) (0–1, 2–2, 1–0, 0–0, 0–0, 1–0)

Sacred Heart

Tate Rink, West Point, New York Attendance: 96

Game reference
	Trevin Kozlowski	Goalies	Josh Benson	Referees: Andy O'Brien Casey Terreri Linesmen: Anthony Valle Bobby Griffin
	0–1 18:41 – PP – Braeden Tuck (6) (Johnstone, Magera) 0–2 23:00 – PP – Austin Magera (7) (Johnstone, Godbout) (Hatten, Haider) Eric Butte (6) – PP – 26:09 1–2 (Bilek, Firriolo) Mason Krueger (5) – 36:34 2–2 2–3 38:54 – Patrick Dawson (1) (Johnstone, Lombardi) (Machlitt, Krueger) Thomas Farrell (4) – 52:21 3–3 (Machlitt, Krueger) Colin Bilek (18) – GW – 113:20 4–3
	10 min	Penalties	10 min
	72	Shots	45

Army Won Series 2–0

(W1) Robert Morris vs. (W5) Niagara

March 12, 2021 7:00 PM

Robert Morris

3 – 2 (OT) (0–1, 2–1, 0–0, 1–0)

Niagara

Clearview Arena, Neville Township, Pennsylvania Attendance: 0

Game reference
	Noah West	Goalies	Chad Veltri	Referees: Michael Shubert Joseph Genovese Linesmen: Hunter Pickard Adam Tobias
	0–1 09:26 – Eric Cooley (4) (Naumovski, Zielinski) (Kramer, Hebert) Aidan Spellacy (5) – 20:11 1–1 (Michaelian, Love) Jordan Timmons (9) – 29:20 2–1 2–2 32:12 – PP – Justin Kendall (3) (Cooley, Cox) (Hebert, Head) Darcy Walsh (2) – GW – 64:42 3–2
	4 min	Penalties	2 min
	36	Shots	25

March 13, 2021 7:05 PM

Robert Morris

2 – 3 (2OT) (1–2, 1–0, 0–0, 0–0, 0–1)

Niagara

Clearview Arena, Neville Township, Pennsylvania Attendance: 0

Game reference
	Noah West	Goalies	Chad Veltri	Referees: Michael Shubert Joseph Genovese Linesmen: Hunter Pickard Adam Tobias
	0–1 11:23 – Jack Billings (5) (Cooley) (Prkusic, Hernandez) Justin Addamo (8) – PP – 16:03 1–1 1–2 16:55 – Ludwig Stenlund (7) (Herrmann, Billings) (Hernandez, Schaeffer) Nick Prkusic (7) – 26:41 2–2 2–3 87:31 – GW – Jack Billings (6) (Stenlund, Edgerton)
	8 min	Penalties	8 min
	51	Shots	40

March 14, 2021 7:05 PM

Robert Morris

1 – 2 (0–1, 0–1, 1–0)

Niagara

Clearview Arena, Neville Township, Pennsylvania Attendance: 0

Game reference
	Noah West	Goalies	Chad Veltri	Referees: Michael Shubert Joseph Genovese Linesmen: Hunter Pickard Adam Tobias
	0–1 02:59 – Jack Billings (7) (Edgerton) 0–2 23:51 – GW – Walker Sommer (7) (Evingson, Mysak) (Jenny, Michaelian) Randy Hernandez (11) – EA – 59:48 1–2
	19 min	Penalties	6 min
	45	Shots	32

Niagara Won Series 2–1

(W2) Canisius vs. (W3) RIT

March 12, 2021 7:05 PM

Canisius

5 – 2 (1–1, 4–1, 0–0)

RIT

LECOM Harborcenter, Buffalo, New York Attendance: 89

Game reference
	Jacob Barczewski	Goalies	Ian Andriano Logan Drackett	Referees: Chris Leavitt William McGoldrick III Linesmen: Brendan Lewis Joe Sherman
	(Mastrodonato, Alger) Ryan Miotto (1) – 13:32 1–0 1–1 14:48 – Will Calverley (12) (Walker, Willett) (Gestro, Virtanen) Cooper Haar (1) – 23:32 2–1 (Martan, Miotto) David Melaragni (2) – GW – 28:39 3–1 (unassisted) J. D. Pogue (2) – SH – 31:42 4–1 4–2 32:25 – PP – Dan Willett (3) (Gonsalves, Moretz) (Lapid) Austin Alger (3) – 32:47 5–2
	8 min	Penalties	2 min
	23	Shots	37

March 13, 2021 7:05 PM

Canisius

6 – 2 (1–2, 2–0, 3–0)

RIT

LECOM Harborcenter, Buffalo, New York Attendance: 109

Game reference
	Jacob Barczewski	Goalies	Logan Drackett	Referees: Chris Leavitt William McGoldrick III Linesmen: Brendan Lewis Joe Sherman
	(Meyer, Virtanen) Max Kouznetsov (3) – 02:50 1–0 1–1 10:46 – PP – Jake Hamacher (7) (Gonsalves, Willett) 1–2 14:51 – PP – Dan Willett (4) (Gonsalves, Hamacher) (unassisted) Keaton Mastrodonato (9) – 23:39 2–2 (Lapid, Mastrodonato) Grant Meyer (2) – PP GW – 34:09 3–2 (Gravel, Gestro) Lee Lapid (5) – SH – 55:11 4–2 (Decker) Mitchell Martan (5) – EN – 57:22 5–2 (Martan, Mastrodonato) Ryan Miotto (2) – EN – 58:53 6–2
	12 min	Penalties	10 min
	25	Shots	31

Canisius Won Series 2–0

Semifinals

(E1) American International vs. (W5) Niagara

March 19, 2021 2:00 PM

American International

2 – 1 (0–0, 0–1, 2–0)

Niagara

MassMutual Center, Springfield, Massachusetts Attendance: 0

Game reference
	Stefano Durante	Goalies	Chad Veltri	Referees: Chris Leavitt Michael Schubert Linesmen: Anthony Valle Bobby Griffin
	0–1 37:50 – Walker Sommer (8) (unassisted) (Galambos) Elijiah Barriga (6) – 51:22 1–1 (Baum, Kapcheck) Justin Cole (8) – GW – 54:19 2–1
	2 min	Penalties	4 min
	35	Shots	18

(E2) Army vs. (W2) Canisius

March 19, 2021 7:05 PM

Army

3 – 4 (OT) (1–0, 0–2, 2–1, 0–1)

Canisius

MassMutual Center, Springfield, Massachusetts Attendance: 0

Game reference
	Trevin Kozlowski	Goalies	Jacob Barczewski	Referees: Ryan Sweeney Brendan Blanchard Linesmen: Shane Kanaly Matthew Hallok
	(Berkovitz, Farrell) Jake Felker (3) – 15:06 1–0 1–1 26:02 – Simon Gravel (5) (Wareham) 1–2 26:48 – PP – Mitchell Martan (6) (Lapid, Meyer) (Krueger, Machlitt) Thomas Farrell (5) – 41:51 2–2 (Abdelnour, Hatten) Matt Berkovitz (1) – 49:56 3–2 3–3 54:07 – Max Kouznetsov (4) (Gravel, Gestro) 3–4 73:31 – GW – J. D. Pogue (5) (Haar, Long)
	10 min	Penalties	4 min
	29	Shots	31

Championship

(E1) American International vs. (W2) Canisius

March 20, 2021 7:00 PM

American International

5 – 2 (0–1, 2–1, 3–0)

Canisius

MassMutual Center, Springfield, Massachusetts Attendance: 0

Game reference
	Stefano Durante	Goalies	Jacob Barczewski	Referees: Ryan Sweeney Michael Schubert Linesmen: Anthony Valle Bobby Griffin
	0–1 08:40 – Kevin Obssuth (3) (Pogue, Long) (Dodero, Baum) Justin Cole (9) – 21:21 1–1 1–2 23:12 – Grant Meyer (3) (Melaragni) (Theodore, Kapcheck) Elijiah Barriga (7) – PP – 34:41 2–2 (Fladeby, Kapcheck) Chris Theodore (4) – PP GW – 43:24 3–2 (Kapcheck, Otto) Chris Dodero (8) – EN – 57:52 4–2 (Revering) Zak Galambos (4) – EN – 58:36 5–2
	2 min	Penalties	21 min
	36	Shots	17

Tournament awards

All-Tournament Team

• G: Stefano Durante (American International)
• D: Logan Gestro (Canisius)
• D: Brennan Kapcheck (American International)
• F: Elijiah Barriga (American International)
• F: Justin Cole* (American International)
• F: J. D. Pogue (Canisius)

^[4]

* Most Valuable Player(s)

References

1. "Positive COVID-19 test at Holy Cross cancels rest of Crusaders' season; Sacred Heart gets bye into Atlantic Hockey quarterfinals". USCHO.com. March 5, 2021. Retrieved March 5, 2021.
2. "2019 Atlantic Hockey Tournament - Atlantic Hockey Association".
3. "Bentley withdraws from Atlantic Hockey playoffs, advancing American International to semifinals". USCHO.com. March 11, 2021. Retrieved March 13, 2021.
4. "ATLANTIC HOCKEY CHAMPIONSHIP: American International repeats as titlists with three goals in third period to down Canisius". USCHO.com. March 20, 2021. Retrieved March 22, 2021.