Atlantic Hockey has announced changes to the upcoming 2021 postseason tournament.
The tournament will still take place over the first three weekends in March, but the entire tournament will be played on campus sites this year.
Additionally, the first round has been made into a single-elimination round and that game is to be played on either March 6 or March 7. The following weekend, March 12-14, will be a best of three series with the semifinals and finals being played on Friday, March 19 and Saturday, March 20, respectively.
To continue the league’s efforts to mitigate the threat of COVID-19, the first two rounds will be played within the regional pods AHA teams have been playing in all season. The only East-West crossover will come during championship weekend where the semifinals will see the top remaining seed coming out of the West playing the lowest remaining seed coming out of the East, and vice versa.
Air Force will be assigned to either the East Pod or the West Pod based on final standings.
The allowance of fans will be determined on an institution by institution basis. Once teams reach the championship round, Atlantic Hockey will work with the host institution and government officials to determine if fans can be permitted for the championship. In the event that fans are allowed, an announcement will be made and passes will be coordinated through the host institutions.
If fans are not permitted, all games will be available on FloHockey.tv.
As a result of the season’s pod schedule, Atlantic Hockey will be recognizing Eastern and Western Pod regular-season champions as well as sets of regular-season award winners from each regional pod. The winners of all awards will be announced prior to the start of the semifinals on March 18.
