Established 1995 Sport ACHA Commissioner Mike Walley | Members 13 Region Southeast | |
States 5 - Maryland, North Carolina, Pennsylvania,
Virginia, Washington D.C. | ||
The Atlantic Coast Collegiate Hockey League (ACCHL) is an ACHA ice hockey league in the mid-atlantic and southeast regions of the US. The league is intended to give Universities and colleges in the Southeast an option to ice hockey without the high expenses of NCAA level hockey. Mike Walley is currently commissioner of the ACCHL. Del Daigle (PhD) is the Chief Financial Officer of the league and Keith Rosenfeld is the Referee-in-Chief.
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Current Members
All thirteen member schools compete at the Division I level of NCAA.
League Expansion
George Washington University and the University of Maryland joined the league at the start of the 2010-11 season. The addition of these programs added to the competitive play in the league and is part of the expansion plan led by ACCHL Commissioner Don Martin. Plans are to continue expanding from to the current seven team league to twelve teams in the near future.
Elon University joined the ACCHL for the 2012-2013. Elon, a relatively new program formally with the BRHC, quickly demonstrated an excellent brand of competitive hockey that was largely responsible for its elevation to the D2 level. It was a natural fit with the rest of the ACCHL teams. The Phoenix moved to the D2 level after only one year in the BRHC at the D3 level.
In addition, Wake Forest University joined the ACCHL for the 2013-2014 season. Wake Forest, also formally with the BRHC, played well in their first year of D2, although they failed to make the end of year tournament.
For the 2014-2015 season, the ACCHL welcomed the High Point University Panthers, bringing the league to a total of ten teams. For the 2015-1016 season, the league will add Saint Joseph’s University, the University of North Carolina – Charlotte, and James Madison University, bringing the league total to 13 teams.
Tournament Championships
The ACCHL holds a tournament for the top four teams in the league at the end of each season. The winner receives the Admiral's Cup.
Stephen Russell Memorial Tournament
NC State University has hosted a tournament at some point every season since 2009, to commemorate the loss of their goaltender Stephen Russell. Russell drowned in a swimming accident at Jordan Lake, near the NC State campus. The team retired his jersey number, 20, in his honor.
In 2014, the ACCHL teamed up with NC State to host the tournament as the official kick-off of the ACCHL season. Each participating team will play two ACCHL conference games and the event concludes with a North vs. South Division All-Star Game.
The current tournament features a conglomerate scoring system of winning periods (1 point per period), whole games (3 points for a regulation win, 2 points for an overtime win, 1 point for an overtime loss, and 0 points for a regulation loss), and points earned in a skills competition (varying by event). The totals are added for a final score.