The 2016-2017 ACHA DIII season has come to a close after Aquinas College out of the Michigan Collegiate Hockey Conference was crowned National Champions at the end of the National Tournament in Columbus, OH.  Three Southern Collegiate Hockey Conference schools took the trek to Columbus earlier this month.  These teams included FGCU, Tampa and USF, who qualified through regionals.

The Florida Gulf Coast Eagles came out the most successful out of all the SCHC teams, being the only team to advance from their pool.  FGCU posted a 3-1 record in Columbus, eventually losing to Calvin College 4-3 in the semi-finals.  FGCU recorded wins against Adrian College, Southern Connecticut State University as well as Marquette University in their pool play.  The Eagles earned themselves a #3 ranking in the final ranking, surpassing Bryn Athyn College for the teams that advanced to the semi-finals.

The SCHC Champions, University of Tampa, would record a 1-2 record in Ohio to earn them an end of season record of #9 in the country.  The Spartans hit a roadblock in their first game after Aquinas College, the eventual National Champions, beat them in the first game of the tournament.  They were able to turn it around in the end with an OT thriller, posting a win over the #1 ranked team out of the Pacific region, Iowa State.

The University of South Florida was able to qualify for the National Tournament by winning in the Regional Tournament just weeks prior with two big wins over The University of South Carolina and Liberty University.  The Bulls would play eventual runner-ups of the tournament, Calvin College as well as Farmingdale State University and Colorado State University.  USF end the season ranked #16 in the country.

The Southern Collegiate Hockey Conference wishes all the graduating seniors out of the six teams the best of luck in the future and thanks them for being a part of the creation of the conference.