INCH'S INTRODUCTION TO COLLEGE HOCKEY
Basic Conference Setup

College hockey's evolution has led to the creation of sport-specific conferences, rather than groups like the Big Ten or the Big East. Instead, the 58 Division I men's college hockey teams are divided into Atlantic Hockey, College Hockey America, the Central Collegiate Hockey Association, the ECAC Hockey League, Hockey East and the Western Collegiate Hockey Association.

The latter four are the most well-established and occasionally called the "Big Four"; Atlantic Hockey and College Hockey America are our mid-majors, if you will.

Conferences each play for regular-season and playoff titles. The regular-season schedules vary from league to league, depending on the number of teams in the conference and other factors, but schools generally play each other between two and four times per year.

Teams also play non-conference schedules, somewhat like inter-divisional games in the NHL. Like the NHL, these games count in your overall record, but unlike the NHL they do not count in determining conference standings.

Intro to College Hockey

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