BOSTON – The Atlantic Hockey America (AHA) men’s head coaches narrowly favor Sacred Heart over defending champion Bentley entering the 2026-27 season, according to the Preseason Poll released ahead of the annual conference Media Day set for Wednesday, September 23. Sacred Heart accumulated 59 points in the voting to Bentley’s 58, though the Falcons held the edge in first-place votes, five to three. Coaches could not vote for their own teams.

Sacred Heart stands atop the conference’s Preseason Poll for the third straight season.

Sacred Heart junior goaltender Ajeet Gundarah (Richmond, B.C.) headlines the Preseason All-Atlantic Hockey America team as the Preseason Player of the Year. Six schools are represented in the six spots on the preseason all-conference team, with 23 different players earning at least one vote. 

Preseason Poll (First-place votes), Pts.
1. Sacred Heart (3), 59
2. Bentley (5), 58
3. RIT (1), 51
4. Holy Cross, 42
5. Air Force, 34
6. Robert Morris, 27
7. Army West Point, 25
T-8. Canisius, 14
T-8. Niagara, 14

Sacred Heart and Bentley – who met in the 2026 AHA Championship Game in March – were followed closely by RIT in the voting, with the Tigers earning one first-place vote. RIT and Army West Point are both forecast to improve two positions from the final 2025-26 conference standings. 

Preseason Player of the Year
Ajeet Gundarah, Jr., G, Sacred Heart
Also receiving votes: JJ Cataldo (Jr., G, Army West Point), Michael Mesic (Jr., F, Bentley), Christian Catalano (Sr., F, RIT), Matthew Wilde (Sr., F, RIT)

Gundarah posted a .933 save percentage and 1.93 goals-against average in conference play in 2025-26, both of which ranked second in Atlantic Hockey America. His .928 overall save percentage ranked sixth nationally among goaltenders with at least 20 games played. He was named third-team all-conference and to the AHA All-Rookie Team in 2024-25. 

Preseason All-Conference Team
F: Jack Ivey, JR, Army West Point
F: Kellan Hjartarson, SR, Bentley
F: Walter Zacher, SR, Canisius
D: Nolan Cunningham, SR, Air Force
D: Dominic Elliott, JR, Robert Morris
G: Ajeet Gundarah, JR, Sacred Heart

Also receiving votes: 
Forwards: Matt Kursonis (Jr., Holy Cross), Nick Sajevic (Jr., Air Force), Matthew Wilde (Sr., RIT), Brendan Gibbons (Sr., Air Force), Michael Mesic (Jr., Bentley), Christian Catalano (Sr., RIT), Jackson Reinecke (Sr., Robert Morris), Devin Phillips (Gr., Sacred Heart), Gavin Bryant (So., Sacred Heart)
Defensemen: Will Staring (Sr., Air Force), Ben Roger (Sr., RIT), John Babcock (So., Robert Morris), Garrett Horsager (Sr., Bentley), Tristan Allen (Jr., RIT), Aiden VanRooyan (Jr., Sacred Heart)
Goaltenders: JJ Cataldo (Jr., Army West Point), Danick Leroux (So., Holy Cross)

This marks the first time that six schools are represented on the Preseason All-Conference Team. 

Army West Point junior Jack Ivey (San Diego, Calif.), Bentley senior Kellan Hjartarson (Calgary, Alta.) and Canisius senior Walter Zacher (Buffalo, N.Y.) occupy the forward spots. Ivey was a Second-Team All-AHA selection last season and led the Black Knights with 14 goals and 28 points. Hjartarson, the conference’s Best Defensive Forward in 2025-26, was named to the AHA All-Tournament Team after scoring twice in the third period of the championship game, including the game-winning goal. Zacher earned Third-Team All-AHA honors last season while leading Canisius and finishing second in the conference with 19 goals overall. 

The Preseason All-Conference defensemen are Air Force senior Nolan Cunningham (Helena, Mont.) and Robert Morris junior Dominic Elliott (Allendale, Mich.). Cunningham earned Third-Team All-AHA honors last season while ranking third among league defensemen in points (16) and plus-minus rating (+7) in AHA games. Elliott followed up his 2024-25 AHA All-Rookie Team selection with Second-Team All-AHA honors last year. He ranked second in the conference in blocked shots (66 in AHA games) and led Colonials defensemen with 19 points overall. 

Coaches could not vote for their own team or players in the preseason ballots.

ABOUT ATLANTIC HOCKEY AMERICA
Atlantic Hockey America enters its third season in 2026-27 following the merger of the Atlantic Hockey Association and College Hockey America. The conference fields nine NCAA Division I men’s teams and seven women’s teams representing 14 institutions. For more information, visit atlantichockeyamerica.com or follow the conference on X (@Atlantic_Hockey), Instagram (@atlantichockeyamerica) and Facebook (Atlantic Hockey America).