BOSTON, Mass. - June 4, 2025 - Atlantic Hockey America has announced the schedule for the 2025-26 season. The full composite schedule can be found HERE. Dates and times are subject to change.

The battle for the AHA regular season title will begin on Oct. 10 with the first slate of conference games. The regular season wraps up on Feb. 28, with the postseason beginning on March 3.

Bentley Aims to Defend Title
After winning the 2025 AHA postseason title, the Bentley Falcons open their 2025-26 season on Oct. 10 at Colorado College. The first AHA conference game for Andy Jones' squad will be on Oct. 24 vs Canisius.

Championship Game Rematches
Last season, Bentley and Holy Cross met in the AHA title game on March 22, 2025, with Bentley prevailing in a 6-3 win. The Falcons and Crusaders will meet four times during the 2025-26 regular season: Jan. 2 at Bentley, Jan. 3 at Holy Cross, Feb. 6 at Holy Cross and Feb. 7 at Bentley.

Gotkin Begins Final Season
The 2025-26 season will be head coach Rick Gotkin's 38th and final season behind the bench at Mercyhurst. Gotkin is the longest-tenured coach in college hockey, and has racked up 611 career wins. Assistant coach Tom Peffall is slated to take over the program for the 2026-27 season. Peffall has been as assistant on Gotkin's staff at Mercyhurst since 2022. Gotkin will begin his final season on Oct. 3 at Michigan. His final regular season home game is scheduled for Feb. 28 vs Robert Morris.

Riga and Holy Cross Open at Northeastern and Maine
Defending Atlantic Hockey Coach of the Year Bill Riga will lead Holy Cross into 2025-26 with a road tilt at Northeastern on Oct. 4. The Crusaders will then head to Maine for a weekend series on Oct. 10-11.

Thomas Takes Over at RIT
RIT head coach Matt Thomas enters his first season behind the bench in Rochester. RIT begins its season with a home series vs Sacred Heart on Oct. 10-11. Thomas takes the reins at his alma mater, where he appeared in 102 games from 1994-98, and served as a captain for the Tigers for the 1997-98 season. He totaled 72 points on 25 goals and 47 assists in his playing career with the Tigers.

2026 Atlantic Hockey America Men's Postseason
The chase for the Jack Riley trophy will include all 10 Atlantic Hockey America teams. The 2026 Atlantic Hockey America Postseason will open with single-game first round matchups on March 3. The No. 7 and No. 8 seeds will host the No. 10 and No. 9 seeds, respectively. 

Best-of-three quarterfinal series will take place March 6-8. The semifinal best-of-three series will take place March 13-15 with the highest-remaining seeded quarterfinal winner hosting the lowest-seeded quarterfinal winner and the second-highest remaining seed hosting the third-highest remaining seed.

The postseason will conclude on March 21 when the two semifinal winners meet at the home of the highest-seeded semifinal winner for one game to determine Atlantic Hockey's 2026 postseason champion. The winner of the AHA postseason tournament will claim the conference's automatic qualifier into the NCAA Tournament. 

About Atlantic Hockey America
Atlantic Hockey America (AHA) embarks on its second season in 2025-26 after the merger between the Atlantic Hockey Association and College Hockey America prior to the 2024-25 campaign. The conference fields 10 men’s teams (Bentley University, Canisius University, The College of Holy Cross, Mercyhurst University, Niagara University, Rochester Institute of Technology, Robert Morris University, Sacred Heart University, the United States Air Force Academy, and the United States Military Academy), and seven women’s teams (University of Delaware, Lindenwood University, Mercyhurst University, Penn State University, Rochester Institute of Technology, Robert Morris University, and Syracuse University). For more information, visit atlantichockeyamerica.com.