Glass & Out

When you think of top NCAA hockey programs, schools like Minnesota, Boston College, Michigan State, and North Dakota are usually some of the names that come to mind. While American International College is not quite yet in that conversation, head coach Eric Lang has helped the small school quickly gain notoriety during his short tenure. Lang has helped turn the Yellow Jackets program from a bottom feeder to one of the rising programs in college hockey. After only winning a combined 11 games the previous two seasons, Lang was named head coach of his alma mater in 2016. Within four seasons, he helped AIC to its first two Atlantic Hockey Conference playoff championships and its first ever birth in the NCAA Championship in the 2018-19 season. It was there that they completed one of the biggest upsets in College Hockey history, taking down #1 ranked St. Cloud State in the first round. The success resulted in Lang being named Atlantic Hockey’s Coach of the Year twice and College Hockey News Coach of the Year once.