College Hockey: December 18, 2021 notebook from Service Academies

With the football season just over at the service academies (good luck to the military and the Air Force in their respective games), it’s time to shift gears to what I’m really passionate about, hockey.

For new readers, the world of college hockey can be very different from other college sports. At the top are the NCAA D1 and D3 programs, which are similar to other college sports. Then you have schools participating in ACHA (at D1, D2 and D3 levels) or the newly established CHF. Unlike most other university sports, schools that use NCAA programs may also have ACHA hockey teams (covering both the military and the Air Force) or schools may have multiple ACHA teams (such as the Navy).

There are 10 hockey teams between the five federal service academies – the Army (NCAA D1 and ACHA D2), the Air Force (NCAA D1 and ACHA D3), the Navy (ACHA D1 and CHF D3), the Coast Guard (ACHA D3) and Merchant Marine (ACHA D3). Air Force and Navy also have women’s hockey teams that also compete in ACHA, women’s ACHA D1 and D2. Both Army and Air Force NCAA teams compete in the Atlantic Hockey Conference, while ACHA teams compete in several different divisions.

With this introduction out of the way, let’s dive into the summary of 2021 hockey.

The competition between the army and the navy is renewed on the ice

Since the competition between the military and the Navy rose to ice in 2013, attention and awareness has increased year by year. This year, the ice race debuted as part of the Army and Navy Week celebrations when the Navy’s ACHA D1 team faced the Army’s ACHA D2 team last Friday night at the American Dream Mall.

The Navy fired all the cylinders and took the 6-1 lead in the first set. Although the Army fought hard and defeated the Navy 2-1 in the remaining two periods, it was not enough to defeat the opening attack. The Midshipmen skated away with a win of 7-3, preventing the Army from attempting to upset the best team in the Navy for only the second time in the series ’history.

The match was the last game of 2021 for both teams to return to their own league in 2022.

Activities of the NCAA

Air force ended the first half of the season earlier this month with a win and a penalty shootout over Canisius, an enemy of Atlantic Hockey. The Falcons are currently second to last in the Atlantic Hockey league standings towards the new year. The Air Force will continue to play on New Year’s Day on the two-match roadtrip against the AIC.

Army the year 2021 also ended in victory, stopped RIT last weekend and provided a much – needed spotlight for Army fans on the football fleet after the defeat. The Black Knights will rise to third in the conference in 2022 and continue their campaign against RPI 2. January.

ACHA (and CHF) Men’s Round

There is a lot to cover here…

The D1 Group of the Navy finished the Army D2 7-3 with a new race victory in 2021. The win raised the average to 0.500, as they now have an 8-8-2 record by 2022. Navy D1 will continue the game in January against Temple.

The Navy D3 team, which has recently moved from ACHA D2 to play in the CHF, has achieved one win against six losses so far. Mids looks like the ship is right in 2022 against Liberty 14. January.

The Army ACHA D2 team’s 7-game winning streak was broken against Navya, and the record was 8-2-1 for the new year. The Black Knights will continue to play in early January in the Service Leaders of Tomorrow tournament in Bridgeport, CT.

Despite a losing streak in the opening series for New Mexico, Air Force ACHA The D3 team has dominated the ACHA D3 competition, moves to 2022 with a record 12-4 and ranked 13th in all ACHA D3 teams. The Falcons plan to retaliate for their season-opening loss in January against New Mexico.

The Coast Guard’s ACHA D3 team has had a pretty light playlist in 2021; however, Bears have reached a 4-1 record to end the year. The Coast Guard will also open the 2022 game in the Service Leaders of Tomorrow tournament.

Just like their Navy D3 brother, Merchant Marine’s The ACHA D3 team has struggled in 2021. The Mariners are 0-6, and hopefully the year 2022 will bring them better luck.

ACHA Women’s Summary

Unlike their men’s team, the Air Force women’s ACHA D1 team has struggled. Despite a dominant victory in Colorado State 15-0, the Falcons have lost five other matches with hard margins. Air Force will have two matches against Utah in January 2022.

Navy Women’s ACHA D2 Team has been a considerable force, started their season 11-1, earning them 2nd place in the women’s D2 Southeast. The Navy will continue its schedule in January with a home series against West Virginia.