Oswego State Men’s Hockey Whiteout Weekend vs longtime rival SUNY Plattsburgh. (Photo via oswego.edu – from 2019)
Our season previews continue as the 2025-2026 Men’s & Women’s Division III hockey regular season nears closer. Today, we look at the men’s side of the State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC).
The SUNYAC features:
Buffalo State
Canton
Cortland
Fredonia
Hobart
Morrisville
Oswego
Plattsburgh
Potsdam
Skidmore
2024-2025 Overview
Last season, we experienced the final season of the SUNYAC as we know it, but with two longtime missing pieces. Brockport & Geneseo left the conference for the UCHC following the 2023-24 season, leaving the league with eight teams with the addition of Canton. This upcoming season, we’ll introduce Hobart & Skidmore to the league, the two lone private schools in a state-school league.
Oswego State, a team with 22 first-year players on the roster, got back on top of the SUNYAC for the first time since 2014 as they defeated their historic-rival Plattsburgh 5-2 in the title game, which is crazy to think about considering how good they’ve been over the years, including five-straight Frozen Four appearances during 2010-2014. Longtime Head Coach Ed Gosek, who’s never had a below .500 season in his coaching history with the Lakers, looks to get back on top of D-III as he returns one of the best young rosters in the country following a possible ‘unexpected’ NCAA appearance by everyone other than Laker fans, players, & staff.
Cortland, the winners of the 2024 SUNYAC title, their first in program history, led Plattsburgh in the semifinal matchup, giving up a late goal sending it to overtime, followed by a Plattsburgh goal very early into overtime, sending the Red Dragons home after winning the regular season title.
The conference itself struggled this past year, Cortland was clearly the best team during the regular season, eyeing an NCAA appearance for the second straight season, but their blunders versus the Cardinals led to their early exit. The Red Dragons led the league with 19 wins, followed by three teams with 16, followed by the bottom four with a below .500 record. This season coming up, the SUNYAC is looking to get back to its roots and be one of the top leagues in all of D-III with the additions of the Statesmen & Thoroughbreds.
Oswego, the auto-bid winner, gave Trine a run who was in their first-ever NCAA tournament, but fell 4-1 on the road in Indiana. Look for the Lakers to be fighting for the top seed in the SUNYAC this season and beyond as they return a huge & extremely good freshman class who’ll be around for a few more seasons.
New this season, the SUNYAC will:
“The playoff format will be the same as the men with first-round games taking place on the Wednesday following the conclusion of the regular season followed by the semifinals and championship on consecutive Saturdays“.
The men will have eight playoff spots this season after the expansion.
Returning Production
Looking at the league and the returning production via our guy Scott Huston, we find some interesting results:
The 2025-26 SUNYAC returning production data paints a clear picture of which programs are best positioned for early success. Oswego State headlines the group with a remarkable 91.88% of total points returning, along with 88.24% of goals and 94.03% of assists. After a season where youth fueled a conference title, this level of continuity makes the Lakers a clear favorite to stay a contender in the league—especially with their maturing underclass core now seasoned.
Kahlil Fontana scores the Bobby-Orr-like goal to win the national championship for the third-straight year versus Utica University (Photo Credit: Spencer Tulis)
Hobart, entering the SUNYAC with 65.99% of points and 70.08% of goals back, remains the national title favorite despite heavier turnover. Their well-structured system under Mark Taylor and back-to-back-to-back national-championship pedigree means they can reload quickly, but the reduction in returning assists (63.64%) hints that some offensive rhythm must be rebuilt early.
Skidmore faces the steepest challenge among the top teams, bringing back just 42.86% of total points. The Thoroughbreds’ system continuity and defensive structure will need to offset the lack of returning scorers if they’re to stay competitive in a deeper league.
Plattsburgh retains 62.25% of points and roughly 74% of goals, putting them in solid shape for a rebound after last season’s uneven finish. Cortland, meanwhile, keeps 66.45% of production, which positions them as a steady contender again. Buffalo State’s 69.07% returning points suggests quiet stability—enough veteran firepower to upset higher seeds. Altogether, the SUNYAC’s returning production suggests a fascinating balance: Oswego looks ready to dominate, Hobart will reload, and the rest fight to close the gap.
Dark Horses
This season it’s really hard to predict a ‘dark horse’ simply due to the addition of Hobart & Skidmore. Hobart will be Hobart, nothing changes there, but Skidmore could be considered a dark horse because everyone is thinking Hobart Hobart Hobart… There hasn’t been much chatter regarding the Thoroughbreds since they happen to be joining the league along with the back-to-back-to-back national champions. I think Skidmore makes a lot of noise as some may forget the Thoroughbreds quietly made the NEHC title game in ’22 & ’24, falling to Babson & Hobart, respectively.
SUNY Plattsburgh Men’s Hockey (Photo by Gabe Dickens)
I personally think people are sleeping on Plattsburgh & Head Coach Steve Moffat, there aren’t many times you can call a season which includes a conference championship appearance as a ‘disappointment’, but finishing with a record of 16-11-1 is simply not the Cardinal standard they strive for in the North Country. They were ridden with injuries to key pieces for most of the season, they lost their former SUNYAC Rookie of the Year [Tio D’Addario] to Utica University halfway through the season during winter break, and they also just couldn’t figure it out with the goalie situation as neither were playing to their normal standard.
This season the Cardinals have started 2-0, which includes wins over Castleton & Plymouth State, 6-1 & 4-0, respectively, they also blew out Rivier 13-0 in the preseason. Granted, these teams aren’t national title contenders at the moment, they’re doing what they need to do and look like a different team than the past season or two. Winning their first ‘four’ (includes two exhibition games) by a combined total of 27-3 isn’t a bad start to the year.
I would consider Cortland a ‘dark horse’ in the past, but after winning a conference championship in 2024, they’re no longer in that category, they’re a team that’s now been there and done it [NCAA tournament], they should be in the conversation as a solid team with potential to do great things every year.
Final Thoughts
My final thoughts headed into another season with the SUNYAC is that I’m curious how Hobart and Skidmore perform in year one. Clearly Hobart’s been the best team the past three seasons as they’ve put together a combined record of (86-5-2), (106-11-4) if you include the 2021-22 season, but I’m looking forward to new yearly matchups that this brings us.
The 2025–26 SUNYAC season ushers in a new era with the addition of Hobart and Skidmore, creating one of the deepest leagues in Division III hockey. Oswego returns nearly its entire young core after reclaiming the conference title for the first time since 2014, while Cortland and Plattsburgh look poised for redemption after strong but unfinished campaigns. Hobart remains the national benchmark, but don’t overlook Skidmore’s consistency or Plattsburgh’s possible resurgence. With realignment shaking things up, this season could redefine the balance of power across SUNYAC hockey.
