Conference | ACHA |
---|---|
Founded | 2007 |
Commissioner | Dom Bellizzie |
Sports fielded |
|
Division | Division I |
No. of teams | 8 |
Headquarters | West Bloomfield, Michigan |
Region | Northeast |
Most recent champion(s) | Stony Brook Seawolves (5th title) |
Most titles | Stony Brook Seawolves (5 titles) |
Official website | Official website |
Locations | |
The Eastern States Collegiate Hockey League (ESCHL) is a collegiate hockey conference at the American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA) Division I level. The league was created in 2017 and is made up of eight teams located in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States.
As of 2022, the ESCHL consists of Liberty University, Stony Brook University, Drexel University, Syracuse University, University of Rhode Island, University of Delaware, New York University. and the University of Pittsburgh (Pitt). All schools, except for New York University, compete primarily at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level.
League teams play a 20-game league schedule consisting of 2 games against each of the other league teams. League playoffs are held in February with the top 4 teams qualifying for the playoffs. ESCHL Champions receive an automatic bid to the ACHA Men's Division I National Tournament.
Penn State University won the first two playoff championships over the University of Delaware in both 2008 and 2009. The regular season title was shared by Penn State, Delaware, and the University of Rhode Island in the 2008–2009 with each team finishing with 25 points in the standings. [1] Navy and Drexel left the conference to join the Eastern Collegiate Hockey Association and Robert Morris University joined the conference beginning in the 2010–11 season. In September 2010, prior to the start of the 2010–11 season, Penn State left the conference in 2011 during the program's transition to NCAA Division I. [2] Robert Morris left the league to join College Hockey Mid-America(CHMA) but was replaced by Rutgers in the 2012–13 season. [3] Rutgers left for NECHL in 2018. [4] Drexel joined the league from ECHA before the 2020–2021 season. [5] Niagara & Pitt joined the conference from the NECHL and CHMA for the 2022–23 season. [6]
School | Location | Founded | Affiliation | Enrollment | Nickname | Primary conference |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Drexel University | Philadelphia, PA | 1891 | Private | 25,595 | Dragons | CAA D-I |
University of Delaware | Newark, DE | 1743 | Public | 19,067 | Fightin' Blue Hens | CAA (D-I) |
New York University | New York City, NY | 1831 | Private | 50,027 | Violets | UAA (D-III) |
Niagara University | Lewiston, NY | 1856 | Private | 6,579 | Purple Eagles | MAAC (D-I) |
University of Pittsburgh | Pittsburgh, PA | 1787 | State-related | 50,027[ citation needed ] | Panthers | ACC (D-I) |
University of Rhode Island | Kingston, RI | 1892 | Public | 19,095 | Rams | A-10 (D-I) |
Stony Brook University | Stony Brook, NY | 1957 | Public | 26,782 | Seawolves | CAA (D-I) |
Syracuse University | Syracuse, NY | 1870 | Private | 21,267 | Orange | ACC (D-I) |
School | Hockey Arena | Location | Capacity |
---|---|---|---|
Delaware | Fred Rust Ice Arena | Newark, DE | 2,500 |
Drexel | Class of 1923 Arena | Philadelphia, PA | 2,500 |
Liberty | LaHaye Ice Center | Lynchburg, VA | 4,000 |
New York | Chelsea Piers | New York, NY | 800 |
Pitt | Alpha Ice Complex | Pittsburgh, PA | 1,200 |
Rhode Island | Bradford R. Boss Arena | Kingston, RI | 2,500 |
Stony Brook | The Rinx | Hauppauge, NY | 1,000 |
Syracuse | Tennity Ice Skating Pavilion | Syracuse, NY | 350 |
Year | Winner | Score | Runner-up | Arena | City |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2008 | Penn State | 8–3 | Delaware | McMullen Hockey Arena | Annapolis, Md. |
2009 | Penn State | 4–1 | Delaware | Penn State Ice Pavilion | University Park, Pa. |
2010 | Penn State | 7–5 | Rhode Island | Fred Rust Ice Arena | Newark, Del. |
2011 | Rhode Island | 5–4 | Delaware | Bradford R. Boss Ice Arena | Kingston, R.I. |
2012 | Rhode Island | 4–3 | Stony Brook | Ice Line Quad Rinks | West Chester, Pa. |
2013 | Stony Brook | 3–2 | Delaware | Fred Rust Ice Arena | Newark, Del. |
2014 | Stony Brook | 5–4 | Delaware | The Rinx | Hauppauge, N.Y. |
2015 | Stony Brook | 5–4 (OT) | Delaware | Middletown Sports Complex | Middletown, New N.J. |
2016 | Stony Brook | 4–1 | Lebanon Valley | Hersheypark Arena | Hershey, Pa. |
2017 | Liberty | 6–1 | Stony Brook | Bradford R. Boss Ice Arena | Kingston, R.I. |
2018 | Liberty | 2–1 | Stony Brook | Ice Line Quad Rinks | West Chester, Pa. |
2019 | Syracuse | 3–2 (2OT) | Liberty | Ice Line Quad Rinks | West Chester, Pa. |
2020 | Liberty | 4–0 | Stony Brook | Ice Line Quad Rinks | West Chester, Pa. |
2022 | Stony Brook | 4–2 | Delaware | Ice Line Quad Rinks | West Chester, Pa. |
2023 | Pittsburgh | 8–2 | Niagara | Revolution Ice Center | Scranton, Pa. |
2024 | Drexel | 4–2 | Rhode Island | Revolution Ice Center | Scranton, Pa. |
Robert Morris University Illinois, formerly Robert Morris College, was a private university with its main campus in Chicago, Illinois. It was founded in 1965 but its oldest ancestor was the Moser School founded in 1913. It changed its name to Robert Morris University Illinois in 2009. In 2020, it merged into Roosevelt University, which formed under it a new Robert Morris Experiential College as one of several colleges at Roosevelt. Robert Morris offered associate and bachelor's degrees and was regionally accredited by the Higher Learning Commission.
Established in 1991, the Eastern Collegiate Hockey Association is a hockey-only college athletic conference whose members are East Coast schools. The ECHA is part of the American Collegiate Hockey Association Division 1.
The American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA) is a college ice hockey association. The ACHA's purpose is to be an organization of collegiate affiliated programs, which provides structure, regulates operations, and promotes quality in collegiate ice hockey. The ACHA currently has three men's and two women's divisions and includes approximately 450 teams from across the United States and Canada. Most ACHA teams offer few athletic scholarships and typically receive far less university funding. The ACHA offers an opportunity for college hockey programs that struggle with large budgets and Title IX issues, as an alternative to the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) financial structure.
The Central States Collegiate Hockey League (CSCHL) is Division I ACHA level hockey-college athletic conference. The CSCHL is in its 51st season of existence and is one of the top ranked ACHA leagues. It currently has 4 member teams in the Midwestern United States.
College Hockey Mid-America (CHMA) is an American Collegiate Hockey Association Division I ice hockey conference with teams in Ohio, Western Pennsylvania, and West Virginia. The league was formed in 2006 after members of the now defunct University Hockey League organized the league and moved from the ACHA's Division II to Division I.
The Tri-State Collegiate Hockey League (TSCHL) is an ACHA Division II level ice hockey league. ACHA Division II level consists of players with previous Jr. A, AAA or Midget Major experience, along with high caliber high school experience. The level can range from varsity high school up to NCAA Division III skills, depending on the programs.
The Mid-Atlantic Collegiate Hockey Association (MACH) was a college ice hockey league based in the Southeastern region of the United States. The conference was part of the American Collegiate Hockey Association Division 2 and finished the 2022-2023 season with five teams from colleges and universities based in Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey and Pennsylvania.
The Super East Collegiate Hockey League(SECHL) is a collegiate club hockey league that plays at Division II of the American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA) at Division II.
College Hockey East (CHE) is a mixed American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA) Division 2 and Division 3 league for universities in the Western Pennsylvania region.
The Delaware Valley Collegiate Hockey Conference (DVCHC) is a collegiate hockey conference associated with the Collegiate Hockey Federation (CHF) and independent women's university teams. The conference has men's teams that compete within divisions II and III of the CHF and women's teams that compete in divisions II and III of the ACHA. The DVCHC founding President was Finbarr O'Connor. Coach O'Connor was Head Coach of the Saint Joseph's University team, he was league President for 10 seasons and Coached St. Joe's for 35 years. He was inducted into the Saint Joseph's University Athletic Hall of Fame in 2004. Coach O'Connor is the only non-varsity inductee in their Hall of Fame.
The Indiana University of Pennsylvania Crimson Hawks, commonly known as the IUP Crimson Hawks and formerly called the IUP Indians, are the varsity athletic teams that represent Indiana University of Pennsylvania, which is located in Indiana, Pennsylvania. The university and all of its intercollegiate sports teams compete in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) within the NCAA Division II. The university sponsors 19 different teams, including eight teams for men and eleven teams for women: baseball, men's and women's basketball, men's and women's cross country, women's field hockey, football, men's golf, women's lacrosse, women's soccer, softball, men's and women's swimming, women's tennis, men's and women's indoor and outdoor track and field, and women's volleyball.
University Hockey League (UHL) was an American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA) Division II club level hockey-only college athletic conference with teams in Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Maryland, Virginia, and North Carolina. It was founded in 1998 by University of Pittsburgh, Penn State University, Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP), and West Virginia University.
The Davenport Panthers are the athletic teams that represent Davenport University, located in Caledonia Township, Michigan, in intercollegiate sports as a member of the NCAA Division II level of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), primarily competing in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) for most of its sports as a provisional member since the 2017–18 academic year. The Panthers previously competed in the Wolverine–Hoosier Athletic Conference (WHAC) of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) from 2005–06 to 2016–17.
Penn State Nittany Lions men's ice hockey, formerly known as the Penn State Icers, is a college ice hockey program that represents the Pennsylvania State University. Prior to the 2012–13 season the program was designated a club sport and competed at the ACHA Division I level. PSU was previously a member of the Eastern States Collegiate Hockey League (ESCHL, although the team competed as an independent ACHA D-I member for the 2011–12 season before moving to the NCAA D-I level. They play at the Pegula Ice Arena in University Park, Pennsylvania.
The Lindenwood Lady Lions ice hockey team represents Lindenwood University located in St. Charles, Missouri. The Lady Lions participate in NCAA Division I competition as a member of the Atlantic Hockey America (AHA) conference. The team played with no conference affiliation as an Independent program for its first season of NCAA competition. Lindenwood joined College Hockey America (CHA), a women-only conference, beginning in the 2012–13 season. After the 2023–24 season, CHA and the men-only Atlantic Hockey Association merged to create Atlantic Hockey America. Prior to 2011 the university was a member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), because the organization does not sponsor women's ice hockey, the program competed in the American Collegiate Hockey Association at the ACHA Division I level.
The Colonial States College Hockey Conference (CSCHC) is a non-varsity club college ice hockey league based in the mid-Atlantic region of the United States. The conference is part of the American Collegiate Hockey Association Division 2 and is made up of teams from colleges and universities based in New Jersey and Pennsylvania.
The Rhode Island Rams women's ice hockey team represents the University of Rhode Island (URI) in Women's Division 1 of the American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA). Since the team's 1999 inauguration, the Rams have been one of the most successful programs in intercollegiate women's ice hockey, winning nine regular season and nine playoff titles in the 15-year existence of the Eastern Collegiate Women's Hockey League, both ECWHL records. The Rams have also qualified for 12 of the 18 ACHA National Tournaments held for women's teams, a number that trails only Massachusetts, Michigan and Michigan State. Highlighting Rhode Island's 12 ACHA tournament bids are eight semifinal appearances, including five in a row from 2004 through 2008. The team's present coach, Ashley Pagliarini, was a standout defenseman at URI from 2004 through 2009 and is just the second head coach in team history, taking over for program founder Beth McCann for the 2014–15 season.
The UMass Minutemen women's ice hockey team represents the University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass) in Women's Division 1 of the American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA) and in the Eastern Collegiate Women's Hockey League (ECWHL). The Minutemen are one of the ACHA's premier programs, having qualified for 16 of the 20 ACHA National Tournaments held for women's teams, a number second to Michigan State for the all-time lead. Additionally, UMass has won four ECWHL playoff titles and has been the home of two Zoë M. Harris Award winners, one of five ACHA D1 programs to produce multiple recipients of the honor.
The Roosevelt Lakers women's ice hockey team represents Roosevelt University (RU) in Women's Division 1 of the American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA) and in the Central Collegiate Women's Hockey Association (CCWHA), following the absorption of Robert Morris University Illinois (RMU) and several of RMU's athletic teams, including women's ice hockey, that was finalized in 2020.