Eastern States Collegiate Hockey League
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Eastern States Collegiate Hockey League (ESCHL) was a collegiate hockey conference at the American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA) Division I level. The league was created in 2017 and is made up of eight teams located in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States.
| |
| Conference | ACHA |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2007 |
| Ceased | 2025 |
| Commissioner | Dom Bellizzie |
| Sports fielded |
|
| Division | Division I |
| No. of teams | 6 |
| Headquarters | West Bloomfield, Michigan |
| Region | Northeast |
| Last champions | Delaware Blue Hens (1st title) |
| Most titles | Stony Brook Seawolves (5 titles) |
| Official website | Official website |
| Locations | |
 | |
During the 2024–25 season, Delaware, Stony Brook, Syracuse, and Pittsburgh announced they would be leaving the ESCHL for the newly formed ACCHL Men's Division 1 subsection. This left only Drexel and Rhode Island. With the conference no longer having a sufficient amount of teams for a meaningful in-conference season, both Drexel and Rhode Island departed for the ECHA in the summer of 2025.
Format
League teams play a 20-game league schedule consisting of 2 games against each of the other league teams. League playoffs are held in February with the top 4 teams qualifying for the playoffs. ESCHL Champions receive an automatic bid to the ACHA Men's Division I National Tournament.
History
Penn State University won the first two playoff championships over the University of Delaware in both 2008 and 2009. The regular season title was shared by Penn State, Delaware, and the University of Rhode Island in the 2008–2009 with each team finishing with 25 points in the standings.[1] Navy and Drexel left the conference to join the Eastern Collegiate Hockey Association and Robert Morris University joined the conference beginning in the 2010–11 season. In September 2010, prior to the start of the 2010–11 season, Penn State left the conference in 2011 during the program's transition to NCAA Division I.[2] Robert Morris left the league to join College Hockey Mid-America(CHMA) but was replaced by Rutgers in the 2012–13 season.[3] Rutgers left for NECHL in 2018.[4] Drexel joined the league from ECHA before the 2020–2021 season.[5] Niagara & Pitt joined the conference from the NECHL and CHMA for the 2022–23 season.[6]
Membership
| School | Location | Founded | Affiliation | Enrollment | Nickname | Primary conference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Drexel University | Philadelphia, PA | 1891 | Private | 25,595 | Dragons | CAA D-I |
| University of Delaware | Newark, DE | 1743 | Public | 19,067 | Fightin' Blue Hens | CAA (D-I) |
| University of Pittsburgh | Pittsburgh, PA | 1787 | State-related | 50,027[citation needed] | Panthers | ACC (D-I) |
| University of Rhode Island | Kingston, RI | 1892 | Public | 19,095 | Rams | A-10 (D-I) |
| Stony Brook University | Stony Brook, NY | 1957 | Public | 26,782 | Seawolves | CAA (D-I) |
| Syracuse University | Syracuse, NY | 1870 | Private | 21,267 | Orange | ACC (D-I) |
Previous members
- Navy - 2007–2010, now in ECHA
- Scranton - 2007–2008, now in ACHA Men's Division II, CSCHC
- Penn State - 2007–2011, now NCAA Division I
- Robert Morris - 2010–2012, now in CHMA
- Rutgers - 2012–2018, now in NECHL
- Liberty - now ACHA Division I Independent
- NYU - now in ECHA
- Niagara - now ACHA Division I Independent
Conference arenas
| School | Hockey Arena | Location | Capacity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Delaware | Fred Rust Ice Arena | Newark, DE | 2,500 |
| Drexel | Class of 1923 Arena | Philadelphia, PA | 2,500 |
| Pitt | Alpha Ice Complex | Pittsburgh, PA | 1,200 |
| Rhode Island | Bradford R. Boss Arena | Kingston, RI | 2,500 |
| Stony Brook | The Rinx | Hauppauge, NY | 1,000 |
| Syracuse | Tennity Ice Skating Pavilion | Syracuse, NY | 350 |
List of Championship Games
| Year | Winner | Score | Runner-up | Arena | City |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Penn State | 8–3 | Delaware | McMullen Hockey Arena | Annapolis, Md. |
| 2009 | Penn State | 4–1 | Delaware | Penn State Ice Pavilion | University Park, Pa. |
| 2010 | Penn State | 7–5 | Rhode Island | Fred Rust Ice Arena | Newark, Del. |
| 2011 | Rhode Island | 5–4 | Delaware | Bradford R. Boss Ice Arena | Kingston, R.I. |
| 2012 | Rhode Island | 4–3 | Stony Brook | Ice Line Quad Rinks | West Chester, Pa. |
| 2013 | Stony Brook | 3–2 | Delaware | Fred Rust Ice Arena | Newark, Del. |
| 2014 | Stony Brook | 5–4 | Delaware | The Rinx | Hauppauge, N.Y. |
| 2015 | Stony Brook | 5–4 (OT) | Delaware | Middletown Sports Complex | Middletown, New N.J. |
| 2016 | Stony Brook | 4–1 | Lebanon Valley | Hersheypark Arena | Hershey, Pa. |
| 2017 | Liberty | 6–1 | Stony Brook | Bradford R. Boss Ice Arena | Kingston, R.I. |
| 2018 | Liberty | 2–1 | Stony Brook | Ice Line Quad Rinks | West Chester, Pa. |
| 2019 | Syracuse | 3–2 (2OT) | Liberty | Ice Line Quad Rinks | West Chester, Pa. |
| 2020 | Liberty | 4–0 | Stony Brook | Ice Line Quad Rinks | West Chester, Pa. |
| 2022 | Stony Brook | 4–2 | Delaware | Ice Line Quad Rinks | West Chester, Pa. |
| 2023 | Pittsburgh | 8–2 | Niagara | Revolution Ice Center | Scranton, Pa. |
| 2024 | Drexel | 4–2 | Rhode Island | Revolution Ice Center | Scranton, Pa. |
| 2025 | Delaware | 5–4 (OT) | Syracuse | Revolution Ice Center | Scranton, Pa. |