In early November, American International announced that it was downgrading its hockey program to Division II.
This means, barring a last-minute long-shot reprieve, this season will be the final one in Atlantic Hockey for the Yellow Jackets, who won four regular-season titles from 2019 to 2022 and enjoyed three playoff championships/NCAA appearances in 2019, 2021, and 2022. The 2019 team upset St. Cloud State, the No. 1 team in the nation, in the first round of the NCAA tournament.
AIC came within one win of another playoff title last season, clearly the sign of a successful program.
But due to what the school’s administration euphemistically called “Pathways to Progress,” it was decided that the resources allocated to running a Division I hockey program would be better used elsewhere.
It was shocking news for coach Eric Lang, his staff and his players.
When Lang shared the news with his team, he made them a promise.
“When we first got the awful news, we had a team meeting,” said Lang. “I said to them, ‘I will place every single one of you. You have my word on that.'”
But Lang realized that it would take more than phone calls to accomplish that.
“We’re not having a great season for a lot of reasons,” he said. “Some of the guys are having down years and maybe not feeling confident about their future.”
Another consideration was the plight of players in the portal and the changes happening in college hockey like admitting CHL players, potential roster reductions as a result of the House vs. NCAA settlement, and the fact that many players in the portal don’t have a strong resume.
“Some guys in the portal haven’t played a lot,” said Lang. “Some have, but a lot of players were only playing five or six minutes a game and playing it safe and conservative because they want to stay in the lineup.
“It would be great to get 70 or 80 kids who are in the portal and put them all under one roof, showcase their abilities.”
Thus was born the Men’s College Hockey Transfer Showcase, to be held at the International Skating Center of Connecticut in Simsbury, Conn., on April 5-6.
“It kind of happened organically,” said Lang, who conceived of and is organizing the event. “The feedback is unbelievable. The momentum and traction has been great. We’ve got college hockey coaches coming and some prominent coaches helping to run it.
“We’re planning on four teams but could go as high as six teams, which would be great.”
Lang says that seeing and talking to the players in person can be crucial to finding a good match for both parties.
“When you’re looking at a kid in the portal, you’re usually doing everything over video and then they show up on campus,” said Lang. “This is a chance to look guys in the eye and get a better understand of what they are looking for.”
Lang said he’s focusing on getting this showcase off the ground, but is open to having more, including in other parts of the country.
“Right now, we want to do as good a job as possible at one location,” he said. “But if things work out, we can do more to make the travel easier for players in the midwest.”
Besides finding his and other players a home there’s the matter of ending this final season in the best way possible.
“There’s no script or playbook to coach under this devastating news,” he said. “We’re hoping for a ‘Major League’ ending, but we’re facing a lot of challenges.”
And Lang also needs to find himself a home. With the success he’s had at AIC, that shouldn’t be a problem.
“My personal goal is to continue to coach Division I hockey,” he said. “We’ll see what’s next.”
