Eastern States Collegiate Hockey League

Eastern States Collegiate Hockey League
ConferenceACHA
Founded2007
CommissionerDom Bellizzie
Sports fielded
DivisionDivision I
No. of teams8
HeadquartersWest Bloomfield, Michigan
RegionNortheast
Most recent
champion(s)		Stony Brook Seawolves
(5th title)
Most titlesStony Brook Seawolves
(5 titles)
Official websiteOfficial website
Locations
Location of teams in {{{title}}}

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.

Format

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.

History

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]

Membership

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)

Previous members

Conference arenas

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

List of Championship Games

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.

[7]

See also

References

  1. ^ Eastern States Collegiate Hockey League Powered by Goalline Sports Administration Software
  2. ^ Hradek, E.J. (September 17, 2010). "Penn State hockey moves to D-I". ESPN. Retrieved September 17, 2010.
  3. ^ "Robert Morris to Join CHMA in 2012". Robert Morris Colonials. December 18, 2011. Archived from the original on July 14, 2012. Retrieved May 15, 2012.
  4. ^ "Rutgers University Comes Back to the NECHL | Northeast Collegiate Hockey League".
  5. ^ "Flames set sights on solid 2020-21 DI men's hockey schedule".
  6. ^ "ESCHL Adds Pitt; Expands to 8 Teams". American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA). July 31, 2022. Retrieved February 19, 2023.
  7. ^ "Archived Playoff Results". eschlhockey.com. Eastern States Collegiate Hockey League. Retrieved October 7, 2014.