#50 Army Black Knights

Army Black Knights – AHA

105-195-47 (.370)
Conference Titles: 1

Conference Tournament Titles: 0

NCAA appearances: 0

NCAA Wins: 0

Frozen Four: 0

NCAA Championships: 0

Points: 102.581

The Army Black Knights won the 2008 Atlantic Hockey Regular Season crown but were ousted by Mercyhurst 4-2 in the tournament. The Knights had only two winning seasons and have suffered four consecutive 20-loss seasons, capped by a 6-28 mark last season. Army will be seeking a return to the old normal which saw them enjoy five winning campaigns in the 1990’s.

#55 Sacred Heart Pioneers

#55 Sacred Heart – AHA

129-206-31 (.395)
Conference Titles: 0

Conference Tournament Titles: 0

NCAA appearances: 0

NCAA Wins: 0

Frozen Four: 0

NCAA Championships: 0

Points: 86.032

Sacred Heart has had three 21-win seasons but also suffered through consecutive years with six, six and two victories. Only in 2010 did they advance to the AHA Championship game, falling 6-1 to RIT. They are an atrocious 10-57-2 (.159) out of conference in 10 seasons.

* A math error in Excel led to the Sacred Heart win total being inflated.  That error has been corrected and Sacred Heart has been assigned the proper number of points.

 

#51 Bentley Falcons

Bentley Falcons – AHA

132-184-45 (.428)
Conference Titles: 0

Conference Tournament Titles: 0

NCAA appearances: 0

NCAA Wins: 0

Frozen Four: 0

NCAA Championships: 0

Points: 91.264

Bentley is coming off a record season which saw the Falcons win 19 games and finish five games over .500. It was the first winning campaign since 2009 and only their second since joining Division I in 1999.  The next step for Bentley is a 20-win season which would give the Falcons a winning record for the second consecutive year. Winning a regular season or conference title would help increase their ranking.

 

#52 Connecticut Huskies

#52 Connecticut Huskies
Connecticut Huskies – AHA

135-203-31 (.408)
Conference Titles: 0

Conference Tournament Titles: 0

NCAA appearances: 0

NCAA Wins: 0

Frozen Four: 0

NCAA Championships: 0

Points: 88.814

UConn is switching to the Hockey East conference starting this year. On the one hand, they have a chance to upgrade their schedule and move up these rankings. Realistically, they have a better chance of becoming Michigan Tech or Alaska-Anchorage and get overwhelmed by the opposition. Outside the AHA the Huskies struggled with only 11 nonconference wins in a decade. With the new playoff format in Hockey East a reasonable goal for the Huskies is to host a first round series within the next few years. Cracking the Big Four in the conference is going to take a long time. Just ask Merrimack.