Category: College Hockey

3 APAC Alums to Skate for U.S. at World Juniors

Three players with ties to Atlantic Prep Athletic Conference institutions will be part of the Team USA roster for the 47th IIHF World Junior Ice Hockey Championships which will kick off the day after Christmas. 

Forward Tyler Boucher, a native of Haddonfield, New Jersey, played at St. Joseph’s Prep. Kenny Connors, from Glen Mills, PA skated for Malvern Prep while Sam Lipkin, from Philadelphia, competed for La Salle.

All are forwards.

Boucher is currently playing for the Ottawa 67’s after playing one season at Boston University. He also spent two seasons in USA Hockey’s National Team Development Program   His NHL draft rights are held by the Ottawa Senators, who made him their number-one draft pick (10th overall in 2021).

Connors is in his first season at Massachusetts after playing two years of junior hockey with Dubuque in the NAHL. His NHL rights are held by the Los Angeles Kings, who selected him in the fourth round of the 2022 draft.

Lipkin is in his first season with Quinnipiac after spending two seasons with the Chicago Steel in the USHL. The Arizona Coyotes made him their seventh-round draft choice in the 2021 NHL draft.

The Junior World tournament is set for its customary holiday window, from December 26 through January 5 in Halifax, Nova Scotia and Moncton, New Brunswick. Games will be televised on the NHL Network.

WORCESTER STATE 3, ARCADIA 2 (OT)

COLMAR, Pa. – The Arcadia University women’s ice hockey team fell to Worcester State, 3-2, in overtime on Sunday afternoon at Hatfield Ice Arena. The Lancers scored two third-period goals to send the game to the extra frame, before they scored the game-winner in overtime. 

First-year forward Ariel Williamson scored the first goal in program history for the Knights. The Rome, N.Y. native found the top corner of the goal in the second period to put the Knights on the board for the first time. 

WORCESTER STATE 3, ARCADIA 2 (OT)
HOW IT HAPPENED

  • After neither team found the back of the net in the first period, Williamson scored just over four minutes into the second period to give the Knights a 1-0 lead.
  • Karahkwenhawe White converted on the power play in the second period to give the Knights a 2-0 lead. Williamson tallied her second point of the day with an assist on White’s goal.
  • Worcester State scored its first goal with less than four minutes to go in the third period. The Lancers tied it with a minute and a half left to send the game to overtime. 
  • The Lancers scored the game-winner 1:41 into overtime after a pass in front was tipped past Arcadia goaltender Sophia Szelag. 

Arcadia Counting Down to Opener

The Arcadia Knights are a step closer to beginning their inaugural season of NCAA Division III hockey. The Knights will play a pair of exhibition games before opening their regular season on October 29 when they host Aurora University.

Coach Vincent Pietrangelo says his players are looking forward to facing an opponent. 

“It’s exciting,” he said. “We’ve had really, really good practices and really good competition. But, since the boys have been here at the start, they’ve only been practicing against themselves so a change of pace will be nice, it will be refreshing, it will be exciting,  

“That’s what we all came here for, to play college hockey and compete against other schools. We have a couple exhibition games against other opponents before we start our regular season, and it will be a really good test for us. We’ll kind of see how we stack up and see maybe where some guys end up.”

Pietrangelo was asked if he felt his team was ready for the start of the regular season. “I guess we’ll never know until our first game,” he said. “I really like what we have. I’m pleasantly surprised at what we have. 

“We’re a lot further along in terms of skill. There have been a few guys that have really surprised me. From the recruiting process, they’ve gotten a lot better over the summer. They’ve put the time in, they’ve put the work in, so I’m very happy to see that. That was really good to see, guys coming in and doing the right things.”

One of Pietrangelo’s concerns is injuries. “We have a few guys banged up right now We have some opportunities for some other guys to certainly make their mark in the lineup and (the exhibition games) will be a really good tool evaluating tool for myself and my assistant coach.”

Only one player on the Arcadia roster has NCAA hockey experience.

Arcadia Releases Hockey Schedules

Arcadia University has announced its inaugural men’s and women’s ice hockey schedules. The Knights are making their NCAA Division III debut this season. Both teams will play their home games at Hatfield Ice Arena in Colmar.

The men, will play the program’s first game in team history under Head Coach Vincent Pietrangelo on Friday, Oct. 29 as they host Aurora University at 7 p.m.

Arcadia’s schedule consists of seven non-conference games, including the Castleton State Tournament on Nov. 26 and 27. Matchups against Aurora University, Morrisville State College, and SUNY Canton round out the non-conference schedule. 

The Knights will compete in the United Collegiate Hockey Conference (UCHC) and open conference play on Friday, Nov. 5 at Utica College. The UCHC slate features 18 games beginning in November and running through the final week of the regular season in mid-February.

Arcadia’s season culminates with the UCHC Tournament, which is scheduled to take place from Feb. 22 to March 5. The conference postseason tournament includes one quarterfinal game, two semifinal games, and two championship games. 

The women will play the program’s first game under Head  Coach Kelsey Koelzer in team history on Saturday, Oct. 30 at home against Worcester State University at 7:30 p.m.

Arcadia has three non-conference matchups on its schedule, traveling to SUNY Cortland for a pair of games on Dec. 10 and 11 before hosting Western New England University on New Year’s Day.

The Knights will compete in the United Collegiate Hockey Conference (UCHC) and open conference play on Friday, Nov. 5, hosting Utica College. The UCHC slate features 20 games beginning in November and running through the final week of the regular season in mid-February.

Arcadia’s season culminates with the UCHC Tournament, which is scheduled to take place from Feb. 26 to March 5. The conference postseason tournament features one game each for the quarterfinal, semifinal, and championship rounds. 

The Arcadia men’s hockey schedule is HERE

The Arcadia women’s hockey schedule is HERE

Members of the United Collegiate Hockey Conference include: Wilkes, Chatham, King’s, Lebanon Valley, Manhattanville, Nazareth, Neumann, Stevenson, Utica, Alvernia, and Arcadia 

Launch of Arcadia Hockey Program Marks the Start of a New Era

             A new era is dawning at Arcadia University. Beginning this fall the university will put men’s and women’s NCAA Division III varsity hockey teams on the ice. The Knights will play their home games at Hatfield Ice and compete in the United Collegiate Hockey Conference, which includes teams in Pennsylvania, New York, and Maryland.

The 25-game regular season will commence on Halloween Weekend. Several teams in the hockey-only conference, including Arcadia, are members of the Middle Atlantic Conference in other sports, including Wilkes, Lebanon Valley, and Stevenson. Kings, which did not field a team last season, is also part of the MAC.

The Arcadia men’s team is coached by Vincent Pietrangelo a Michigan native who has been on the job since September of 2019.  Before coming to Arcadia, he spent three years as an assistant at the SUNY at Canton. Prior to that he was an assistant at Division I Ferris State.

Pietrangelo, who played college hockey at Division III Finlandia University has always wanted to build his own program and embraces the challenges that accompany that, notably in the area of recruiting.

“A startup program isn’t for everybody,” he said. “I guess the one unique thing is, I have a special opportunity for guys to come in and help write the history of something and build something from the ground up.

“So, that’s the kind of players that I’ve been going after, guys pretty much like myself. I took this job on (because) I wanted to start a program from scratch. It’s been my dream job, and I want guys to have that same kind of passion, that are saying ‘I want to be part of something, I want to be one of the founding members and take this program from starting to something great.’”

One challenges Pietrangelo has faced is attracting players who can meet Arcadia’s academic standards.

“Obviously finding kids that meet that academic requirement is something I have to look at,” he said. “But I guess just getting the word out that we are starting a program and having a program was the biggest challenge.

“Year One was just kind of watching kids, letting the hockey world know that Arcadia is starting. I was able to grab five really good kids that were pretty connected in the world and were able to also kind of help me recruit. I did that up until the pandemic hit. That was very challenging, once the pandemic hit, to recruit. instead of being able to meet a player face to face at the rink, I’m having to watch a lot more video and do a lot more phone calls. I’m more of a personal recruiter, I like to be face to face. So, that was kind of a new challenge for me.”

Like all players coming into NCAA hockey. Pietrangelo’s players will have to make some adjustments, and make them in a hurry.

“We practice every day,” he pointed out, which is a very different transition for a lot of my guys that are coming in. They’re used to playing 60 games a year in junior. Now they’re only playing 25 but it’s a lot more taxing than a lot of people think just because every day these student-athletes have to get up and go to class and study. 

“They’re in the weight room, then they come to practice. That takes a toll on their bodies. All my guys are coming in at 21 as freshmen. They’ll be playing against some seniors that are 25, 26 years old.”

Peyton Jones Headed to AHL

Peyton Jones, who started in goal for Penn State and before that Holy Ghost Pep, has agreed to a two-year, one-way contract with the American Hockey League’s Colorado Eagles, beginning with the 2020-21 season. The team announced the signing Monday afternoon.

Colorado was granted membership as an expansion team in the AHL beginning with the 2018-19 season and is the affiliate of the Colorado Avalanche.

“We are extremely happy for Peyton,” mentioned head coach Guy Gadowsky. “Through an incredible level of commitment to improving every day as an athlete and a student, Peyton has done so much for the success of our hockey program and has set standards that we hope are lived up to for many years to come. Congratulations to Peyton, we are excited to see his future successes.”

Jones jumped right into the starting role between the pipes as a freshman becoming the program’s first-ever everyday goalie following four years where goalies saw split time in Hockey Valley. The Langhorne, Pennsylvania native seized the opportunity and never looked back graduating from Penn State with 14 program records.

Jones, Penn State’s all-time wins leader, bookended his time as a Nittany Lion with victories in his first and last games at Pegula Ice Arena. He registered a 76-44-11 career record including a single-season record 23 during his freshman campaign where he was named the Big Ten Tournament’s Most Outstanding Player as the Nittany Lions captured their first-ever tournament title. His 42 career Big Ten victories are also a conference standard.

The senior is the Penn State career leader for games played and games started by a goalie with 133 for his career as well as leading in minutes (7866:20), saves (3,685) and points/assists by a goalie with eight. Along with his single-season program record for wins, Jones also holds single-season standards in games started (36), saves (983), points/assists (4) and shutouts (2).

During his final season in Hockey Valley this past year, Jones registered career-highs with a .919 save percentage, ranking fourth in the Big Ten and 21st nationally, to go along with a 2.60 goals against average while posting a 18-9-3 record and leading the Nittany Lions to their first-ever Big Ten regular-season championship. Jones’ .919 save percentage and 2.60 goals against average are both the second-best single-season marks in program history.

“Penn State has prepared me well for my pro hockey career,” mentioned Jones. “The coaching staff has done a great job with getting me stronger and ready for the next level off the ice while on the ice I was fortunate enough to have some extremely talented teammates who challenged me to be my best every day.”

Gump Whiteside coached Jones at Holy Ghost where Jones had a presence about him even as a freshman and even earlier when Jones was playing at the middle-school level.

Whiteside said Jones’s success could be attributed to his mental discipline and work ethic as well as his physical abilities. “Making it in the AHL, at a high level, is tough for a goaltender. It’s a little easier for forwards and defensemen. That just goes to show you about his work ethic.”

Penn State Announces Hockey Schedule

The Penn State Nittany Lions have released their 1919-20 men’s hockey schedule. The campaign begins with an exhibition game against the University of Ottawa on Sunday, October 6 at Pegula Ice Arena before the 34-game regular season gets underway the following Friday, October 11 against Sacred Heart in the opener of a two-game series.

The Big Ten season gets underway November 1 and 2 when Penn State hosts Wisconsin.

Game times have yet to be announced.

The best-of-three Big Ten tournament quarterfinals are set for March 6-8 at campus sites with the one-game semifinals scheduled for March 14 and the conference championship game for March 21, again on campus sites.

Penn State finished 22-15-2 a year ago and reached the Big Ten championship game before falling to Notre Dame.

The Nittany Lions led in scoring at 4.54 goals per game.

This season marks the eighth for Penn State as a Division I hockey program and its seventh as a member of the Big Ten. Head coach Guy Gadowsky is starting his 20th season as a collegiate head coach. He has an overall record of 298-308-56 and 1125-110-19 during his time at Penn State.

Arcadia University to Add NCAA Division III Ice Hockey

GLENSIDE, Pa. — Arcadia University’s Athletics Department has announced the addition of men’s and women’s ice hockey programs, beginning in fall 2021. Arcadia becomes the fourth Division III college or university in Pennsylvania to offer ice hockey as a varsity sport, and the seventh college or university in Pennsylvania overall to do so.

 

“We are excited to add men’s and women’s ice hockey to our sport sponsorship offerings,” said Brian Granata, director of Athletics at Arcadia. “Even though the sport of ice hockey has seen tremendous growth within our athletic conference in recent years, the market remains unsaturated with collegiate options for players. We feel we are uniquely positioned in a hockey-rich region to develop quality programs that offer a great experience for our student-athletes. Furthermore, ice hockey affords us the opportunity to expand our recruiting efforts outside of our geographical footprint.”

 

The search for head coaches of each ice hockey program will begin later this summer, with the hope that the successful candidates are in place by December 1. Arcadia will hire two full-time head coaches, one each for the men’s and women’s programs, respectively.

 

As of September 2018, the NCAA sponsored 83 men’s ice hockey teams at the Division III level, up from 72 a decade ago, while the women’s sport has grown from 47 universities/colleges sponsoring the sport in 2009-10 to 66 in 2018. The Knights will compete against Middle Atlantic Conference schools in both sports, bringing the Conference’s sponsorship up to six teams for the women and five for the men (Alvernia University is slated to begin play in women’s ice hockey beginning in 2019-20). Arcadia is also seeking membership in a single-sport conference that will provide NCAA automatic qualification access for ice hockey.

 

Arcadia has entered into agreement with Colmar-based Hatfield Ice, which will serve as the home site for both programs. The facility includes three sheets of ice, concession stand, pro shop, and related amenities. Arcadia and Hatfield are co-sharing costs for 3,200-square-feet of facility renovations within Gray Rink, which includes the two locker rooms, bathrooms, showers, laundry room, coaching offices, players’ lounges, storage, and athletic training space. Construction is set to be completed by June 1, 2021.

 

For more information about Arcadia’s ice hockey programs, contact Granata (215-572-2955, granatab@arcadia.edu).

 

Following the recent addition of esports and track & field to the department, Arcadia will now sponsor 26 varsity sports (13 women, 12 men, 1 co-ed) beginning in the 2021-22 academic year. Arcadia teams have captured several conference championships in recent years, including softball, men’s basketball, and men’s volleyball in 2019. Women’s soccer joined the three conference champions in playing in the NCAA tournament this year as well. The Knights earned their highest finish in University history by placing 125th overall in the 2018-19 Learfield IMG Directors’ Cup standings. More information is available at www.arcadiaknights.com.