Coast To Coast is FloHockey’s monthly, cohesive news on North American hockey and live-streaming partnerships.

Leagues are rounding the corner into the second half of the season and the standings narrow with every passing game as point potential diminishes.

This week, Coast to Coast dives into standing separation, dark horses, and more. Don’t miss any second-half action; stream Atlantic Hockey, CCHA, and the ECHL live right here on FloHockey.

Atlantic Hockey Belongs To AIC

The American International Yellow Jackets went 4-9-1 overall and had zero consecutive wins in the first half of their 2021-22 season. A December reset appeared to be just what coach Eric Lang’s team needed.

The Jackets ended 2021 with a win and kicked off 2022 with a win. That two-game streak turned into an 11-game winning streak that launched them back on top of Atlantic Hockey standings. It’s more familiar territory after three consecutive conference titles. 

Forward.
Defense.
Goalie.

Three @Atlantic_Hockey monthly awards for the three positions! Congratulations to Chris Theodore, Zak Galambos, and Jake Kucharski!#AICommitted #DefendTheHive pic.twitter.com/eyzof0YpoZ

— AIC Hockey (@AIC_Hockey) February 1, 2022

But the postseason comes with no guarantees, despite a current ten-point lead on second place Bentley, the Jackets have some stiff competition and conference rivals are eager to play the spoiler.

Canisius, RIT, and Army have the depth and grit to push for the postseason championship and earn an automatic bid to the national tournament. Add in a young, quickly maturing Air Force program and there is no shortage of talent capable of getting in AIC’s way to a fourth title.

No. 1 Minnesota State Leads CCHA

Much like AIC, No. 1-ranked Minnesota State (per the latest USCHO Poll) is eyeing its fifth consecutive conference title—dating back to the WCHA. Opening the season ranked No. 5, the Mavericks swept defending champ UMass in Week 1 and have spent the rest of the season at or above the No. 3 ranking.

Mike Hastings’ team has won 14 of its past 15 contests, including a current five-game streak. It’s hard to bet against the program and there is only one thing left for the Mavericks to accomplish: a national title.

Despite a regular lack of national attention this year in the CCHA—Michigan Tech, Bemidji State, and Bowling Green have put together strong seasons that mere paper stats don’t justify.

The Mavericks have been to three straight national tournaments, but have claimed their conference tournament just once in that span. That leaves the door open for one of those programs to get hot and earn themselves an automatic bid. Michigan Tech holds a .745 win percentage, Bemidji State can score, and Bowling Green has played with grit all season—all three have the tools.

“Eye” On The ECHL

The Toledo Walleye have swum their way up the standings with a league-best .737 win percentage, sitting at 27-9-2. With the second-best goals-for and third best goals-against—among teams to have played a minimum of 35 games—the Walleye aren’t playing like they opted out of last season.

Rather, they are on pace for a franchise year and look like they are ready to return to the Kelly Cup after losing to the Newfoundland Growlers in six games in 2019. 

Three former @ToledoWalleye players will be competing in the 2022 Winter Olympics.
G Pat Nagle (2017-20) will represent Team USA.
D Jake Chelios (2013-14) will play for host China.
D Ralfs Freibergs (2015-16) will play for Latvia.
(Freibergs also played for BGSU.) https://t.co/sRg1GHw62H

— Mark Monroe (@MonroeBlade) February 3, 2022

While forward TJ Hensick and defenseman Randy Gazzola are among scoring leaders at their respective positions, the Walleye have been a by-committee team with four lines of scoring capability and defenseman that are in perfect tune with their expected roles.

Florida Puts NHL On Notice

In case you missed the boat, hockey in Florida works, and it goes beyond back-to-back Stanley Cup Champion Tampa Bay Lightning.

A few hours southeast in Sunrise, the Florida Panthers have grown steadily over the past several years and sit atop the NHL standings with a 32-10-5 record. Winger Jonathan Huberdeau leads the league in scoring with 64 points and 47 assists in 47 games this season.

Add in 2014 No. 1 overall pick Aaron Ekblad’s offensive growth with 10 goals and 41 points in 46 games, along with a dichotomous plus-29 rating good for fourth in the NHL and there’s a lot of reasons the Panthers have reached their current spot.

The Panthers have all of the tools for a lengthy playoff run and are looking to bring the heat this spring.

Have a question or a comment for Jacob Messing? You can find him on Twitter @Jacob_Messing.