# Northeast Collegiate Hockey League

The Northeast Collegiate Hockey League is an ACHA Division I Hockey League consisting of seven teams in the Northeastern United States. A majority of members are located in New York with additional teams coming from New Jersey.

## History

The league was announced on July 19, 2007 with plans to begin its first season later that year. The league's first seven members were Binghamton University, Ithaca College, Penn State Berks, Rutgers University, St. Bonaventure University, SUNY Cortland, and SUNY Oswego. Andy Gojdycz was named the NECHL's first commissioner.
Ahead of the 2010–11 season, Syracuse University joined the NECHL from the Eastern Collegiate Hockey League. By 2013, the Orange were joined by four more former ECHL schools; Niagara University, Rochester Institute of Technology, University at Buffalo, and Canisius University.
The College of New Jersey jumped from ACHA Division II and joined the NECHL for the 2022–23 season.
Buffalo was unable to field a team for the 2024–25 season, leaving the NECHL with five teams. However, the Bulls remained members of the conference officially. Oswego announced it would leave the conference following the 2024–25 season and join the Atlantic Coast Collegiate Hockey League's new ACHA Division I conference.

## Format

Teams play a 15 game league schedule, playing each of the other five teams three times in the regular season. At the conclusion of the regular season the league holds a post season tournament hosted by one of the member schools. The tournament is held over three days at a single venue with top-seeded teams receiving first round byes. The Memorial Cup and an automatic bid to the ACHA Men's Division I National Championship Tournament is awarded to the winner of the tournament.

## Membership

| School | Location | Founded | Affiliation | Enrollment | Nickname | Primary conference |
| University at Buffalo | Buffalo, NY | 1846 | Public | 28,192 | Bulls | Mid-American Conference (D-I) |
| Canisius University | Buffalo, NY | 1870 | Private/Roman Catholic | 5,152 | Golden Griffins | Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (D-I) |
| Rochester Institute of Technology | Henrietta, NY | 1829 | Private/Non-sectarian | 13,861 | Tigers | Empire 8 (D-III) |
| Rutgers University | New Brunswick, NJ | 1766 | Public | 67,556 | Scarlet Knights | Big Ten Conference (D-I) |
| SUNY Oswego | Oswego, NY | 1861 | Public | 8,909 | Lakers | SUNYAC (D-III) |
| The College of New Jersey | Ewing, NJ | 1855 | Public | 7,340 | Lions | New Jersey Athletic Conference (D-III) |
Note: Canisius and RIT also field NCAA Division I hockey teams, SUNY - Oswego also fields NCAA Division III.

### Former Members

* Penn State Berks, moved to the CSCHC
* Ithaca College, moved to the UNYCHL
* Binghamton University, moved to the UNYCHL
* Syracuse University, moved to the ESCHL
* St. Bonaventure University, moved to the UNYCHL
* SUNY Cortland, moved to the UNYCHL
* Cornell University, moved to the UNYCHL
* Niagara University, moved to the ESCHL

### Conference Arenas

| School | Hockey Arena | Capacity |
| Buffalo | Northtown Center | 1,800 |
| Canisius | LECOM Harborcenter | 1,900 |
| RIT | Frank Ritter Memorial Ice Arena | 2,100 |
| Rutgers | ProSkate Ice Arena | 1,500 |
| SUNY - Oswego | Campus Center Ice Arena | 2,500 |
| TCNJ | Tsai Field House | |

## Championship results

| Season | Date | Winner | Score | Runners–up | Venue | Regular season winner | Source(s) |
| 2007–08 | February 4, 2008 | Oswego Lakers | 4–2 | Rutgers Scarlet Knights | Campus Center Ice Arena | Rutgers Scarlet Knights | |
| 2008–09 | March 1, 2009 | Cornell Big Red | 5–3 | Penn State Berks | ProtecHockey Ponds | Penn State Berks Rutgers Scarlet Knights | |
| 2009–10 | February 21, 2010 | Binghamton Bearcats | 4–0 | Rutgers Scarlet Knights | Body Zone Sports Complex | Rutgers Scarlet Knights | |
| 2010–11 | February 20, 2011 | Syracuse Orange | 8–4 | Rutgers Scarlet Knights | Campus Center Ice Arena | Rutgers Scarlet Knights | |
| 2011–12 | February 19, 2012 | Cornell Big Red | 4–3 (OT) | Syracuse Orange | Tennity Ice Skating Pavilion | Rutgers Scarlet Knights | |
| 2012–13 | February 24, 2013 | Buffalo Bulls | 8–7 (2OT) | Niagara Purple Eagles | Northtown Center | Niagara Purple Eagles | |
| 2013–14 | March 2, 2014 | Niagara Purple Eagles | 6–5 | Canisius Golden Griffins | Northtown Center | Syracuse Orange | |
| 2014–15 | February 22, 2015 | Niagara Purple Eagles | 5–4 | Buffalo Bulls | Tennity Ice Skating Pavilion | Niagara Purple Eagles | |
| 2015–16 | February 21, 2016 | Syracuse Orange | 6–3 | Niagara Purple Eagles | Tennity Ice Skating Pavilion | Syracuse Orange | |
| 2016–17 | February 26, 2017 | Niagara Purple Eagles | 9–1 | Canisius Golden Griffins | Harborcenter | Syracuse Orange | |
| 2017–18 | March 4, 2018 | Buffalo Bulls | 5–2 | RIT Tigers | The Rink (Ithaca, NY) | Buffalo Bulls | |
| 2018–19 | March 3, 2019 | Buffalo Bulls | 2–1 | Canisius Golden Griffins | North Buffalo Ice Rink | Buffalo Bulls | |
| 2019–20 | March 1, 2020 | Niagara Purple Eagles | 4–3 | Oswego Lakers | North Buffalo Ice Rink | Niagara Purple Eagles | |
| 2020–21 | Not played due to the COVID-19 Pandemic | Not played due to the COVID-19 Pandemic | Not played due to the COVID-19 Pandemic | Not played due to the COVID-19 Pandemic | Not played due to the COVID-19 Pandemic | Not played due to the COVID-19 Pandemic | Not played due to the COVID-19 Pandemic |
| 2021–22 | February 27, 2022 | Niagara Purple Eagles | 3–2 | Oswego Lakers | Dwyer Arena | Niagara Purple Eagles | |
| 2022–23 | February 26, 2023 | Buffalo Bulls | 4–3 | Canisius Golden Griffins | Tsai Field House | RIT Tigers | |
| 2023–24 | February 18, 2024 | Oswego Lakers | 5–2 | Canisius Golden Griffins | Deborah F. Stanley Arena | Oswego Lakers | |
| 2024–25 | February 23, 2024 | Oswego Lakers | 11–0 | RIT Tigers | LECOM Harborcenter | Oswego Lakers | |

## ACHA National Tournament results

| Year | Round | NECHL Team | Score | Opponent | Opponent Conference |
| 2009 | First Round | #16 Penn State Berks | 2–14 | #1 Lindenwood Lions | CSCHL |
| 2009 | Consolation | #16 Penn State Berks | CXL | #12 Kent State Golden Flashes | CSCHL |
| 2010 | First Round | #16 Rutgers Scarlet Knights | 3–8 | #1 Lindenwood Lions | CSCHL |
| 2010 | Consolation | #16 Rutgers Scarlet Knights | 5–6 (OT) | #15 SUNY Canton Kangaroos | ECHL |
| 2011 | First Round | #15 Rutgers Scarlet Knights | 1–12 | #2 Davenport Panthers | GLCHL |
| 2011 | Consolation | #15 Rutgers Scarlet Knights | 6–8 | #16 Slippery Rock | CHMA |
| 2012 | Play-in Round | #16 Rutgers Scarlet Knights | 1–5 | #17 West Virginia Mountaineers | CHMA |
| 2013 | Play-in Round | #19 Niagara Purple Eagles | 0–1 (OT) | #14 Central Oklahoma Bronchos | WCHL |
| 2014 | Play-in Round | #19 Syracuse Orange | 1–6 | #14 Oakland Golden Grizzlies | GLCHL |
| 2015 | Play-in Round | #17 Buffalo Bulls | 3–4 | #16 Colorado Buffaloes | WCHL |
| 2015 | Play-in Round | #15 Niagara Purple Eagles | 7–2 | #18 Robert Morris Colonials | CHMA |
| 2015 | First Round | #15 Niagara Purple Eagles | 1–4 | #3 Central Oklahoma Bronchos | WCHL |
| 2016 | Play-in Round | #18 Syracuse Orange | 5–3 | #15 Illinois Fighting Illini | CSCHL |
| 2016 | First Round | #18 Syracuse Orange | 2–3 | #3 Stony Brook Seawolves | ESCHL |
| 2017 | Play-in Round | #18 Syracuse Orange | 3–4 | #15 Midland Warriors | Independent |
| 2018 | Play-in Round | #19 Buffalo Bulls | 1–8 | #14 Davenport Panthers | GLCHL |
| 2019 | Play-in Round | #19 Buffalo Bulls | 1–4 | #14 Missouri State Ice Bears | WCHL |
| 2020 | Play-in Round | #20 Niagara Purple Eagles | CXL | #13 Central Oklahoma Bronchos | WCHL |
| 2021 | First Round | #14 Canisius Golden Griffins | 0–10 | #3 Lindenwood Lions | CSCHL |
| 2022 | Play-in Round | #18 Niagara Purple Eagles | 3–7 | #15 Ohio Bobcats | CSCHL |
| 2023 | Play-in Round | #20 Buffalo Bulls | 3–8 | #13 Grand Valley State Lakers | GLCHL |
| 2024 | First Round | #24 Oswego Lakers | 4–1 | #9 Niagara Purple Eagles | ESCHL |
| 2024 | Round of 16 | #24 Oswego Lakers | 3–4 (OT) | #8 Ohio University Bobcats | Independent |
| 2025 | First Round | #20 Oswego Lakers | 3–2 (OT) | #13 Indiana Tech Warriors | WHAC |
| 2025 | Round of 16 | #20 Oswego Lakers | 3–6 | #4 Liberty Flames | Independent |

### NECHL team tournament records

Teams that no longer participate in the Northeast Collegiate Hockey League are in italics.
| Name | P | W | L | OTL | GS | GA | %W |
| Oswego State Lakers | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 13 | 13 | 050.00 |
| Penn State Berks | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 14 | 000.00 |
| Rutgers Scarlet Knights | 5 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 16 | 39 | 000.00 |
| Niagara Purple Eagles | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 11 | 14 | 025.00 |
| Syracuse Orange | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 11 | 16 | 025.00 |
| Buffalo Bulls | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 8 | 24 | 000.00 |
| Canisius Golden Griffins | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 000.00 |