Chris Lerch

Chris Lerch has been covering college hockey for over 30 years, and has been with USCHO since 1999, covering Division III and Division I. He's been the Atlantic Hockey Columnist since 2006.

This Week in Atlantic Hockey America: Holy Cross, Bentley meet this weekend for conference title, NCAA tournament automatic bid

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After three rounds of playoffs, the Atlantic Hockey America tournament is down to the final two teams: Holy Cross and Bentley. They will play a single game on Saturday in Worcester, Mass., for the title and the right to represent the league in the NCAA tournament. Previewing the finals No. 3 Bentley at No. 1 … Read more

Monday 10: No. 1 Boston College falls to Northeastern as conference playoffs kick into high gear heading to championship weekend

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Each week, USCHO.com will pick the top 10 moments from the past weekend in our Monday 10 feature. 1. Northeastern upsets No 1. Boston College For the first time in Hockey East history, a ninth seed has made it to TD Garden. Northeastern became the first nine seed to advance to the Hockey East semifinals … Read more

This Week in Atlantic Hockey America: Quartet of teams off to conference semifinals, playing for automatic bid to 2025 NCAA tournament

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After a wild quarterfinal round that saw seven of 11 games decided by a single goal, including four in overtime, the final four is set in Atlantic Hockey America: Holy Cross, Sacred Heart, Bentley and Army West Point. Three of the four reaming teams have never won an Atlantic Hockey title. Recapping the quarterfinals: – … Read more

This Week in Atlantic Hockey America: Drama the name of the first weekend of conference playoffs with quarterfinals next on docket

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The top seeds advanced in the first round of the Atlantic Hockey America tournament, but not without some drama. Two of the three games needed overtime, and the other was a one-goal game until midway through the final period. The weekend’s highlight was a classic battle between Air Force and Robert Morris at Cadet Ice … Read more

This Week in Atlantic Hockey America: Playoffs have arrived with all 11 conference teams in hunt for NCAA tournament autobid

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When the dust settled on the 2024-25 Atlantic Hockey America regular season, no tiebreakers were necessary to determine the playoff seedings: 1. Holy Cross 2. Sacred Heart 3. Bentley 4. Niagara 5. Army West Point 6. Canisius 7. Air Force 8. American International 9. Rochester Institute of Technology 10. Robert Morris 11. Mercyhurst That means … Read more

This Week in Atlantic Hockey America: Final weekend of ’24-25 regular season on tap with much still to be determined for postseason

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It’s hard to believe, but we’re entering the final weekend of the regular season in Atlantic Hockey America. Well, there’s one extra game to be played on Monday, Feb. 24 – more about that later. The format is as follows: First Round, March 1 Single elimination No. 11 seed at No. 6 seed No. 10 … Read more

This Week in Atlantic Hockey America: Army West Point blueliner Gadowsky ‘super thankful for the opportunities’ hockey has brought his way

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Growing up in a hockey family presents challenges and opportunities. For Army West Point defenseman Mac Gadowsky, hockey was always there, but the sophomore never felt pressure to play. “Ever since I could remember, it’s something I wanted to do,” said Gadowsky. “When I was a kid, it was NHL highlights in the morning and … Read more

This Week in Atlantic Hockey America: Holy Cross standout McLinskey ‘always trying to get better’ as senior season with Crusaders starting to wind down

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Like a lot of hockey players, Holy Cross senior forward Liam McLinskey’s journey to conference MVP and All-American wasn’t a straight line. After two seasons of junior hockey with the Jersey Hitmen of the NCDC where he put up 119 points in 94 games, McLinskey was recruited by Quinnipiac and entered his freshman year in … Read more

This Week in Atlantic Hockey America: Canisius on right path as Golden Griffins ‘doing a good job of not looking at the standings and overthinking’

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Canisius has flown under the radar most of this season. Trevor Large’s team has at least one game in hand on everyone else, and is currently in fifth place, the final bye position, based on points earned per game. “The reality for us is that like most seasons, it’s been a roller coaster,” said Large, … Read more

This Week in Atlantic Hockey America: American International down to final weeks as NCAA D-I team; Yellow Jackets coach Lang organizing transfer showcase event April 5-6

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In early November, American International announced that it was downgrading its hockey program to Division II. This means, barring a last-minute long-shot reprieve, this season will be the final one in Atlantic Hockey for the Yellow Jackets, who won four regular-season titles from 2019 to 2022 and enjoyed three playoff championships/NCAA appearances in 2019, 2021, … Read more

Monday 10: Michigan, Michigan State split latest rivalry series, Army West Point sweeps Air Force for first time at home since 2008, Arizona State moves into first place in NCHC

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Each week, USCHO.com will pick the top 10 moments from the past weekend in our Monday 10 feature. 1. Michigan and Michigan State split home-and-home series Fans went home happy as the top-ranked Spartans and No. 10 Wolverines each won in front of their home crowds. In Friday’s 3-2 overtime win, Michigan was able to … Read more

This Week in Atlantic Hockey America: Confidence boost after weekend of goal scoring has Army West Point primed for Air Force series this weekend

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Scoring goals has been a challenge for Army West Point this season. Before last weekend, the Black Knights (7-15-0) were averaging 1.65 goals a game, and hadn’t scored more than two in a contest since a 5-3 loss to Holy Cross on Nov. 22. Brian Riley’s team came into last weekend’s series with Mercyhurst having … Read more

This Week in Atlantic Hockey America: Buy, sell or hold – predicting what each conference team should aim to do with second half of ’24-25 season looming

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While it often seems like the 2024-25 season just got underway, we’re already at the halfway point, with roughly 47% of Atlantic Hockey America’s conference schedule completed. That’s a decent enough sample to look at where all 11 teams stand. My friends at the USCHO Weekend Review podcast have an exercise called “Buy or Sell,” … Read more