The America East absorbing Hockey East is a pipe dream. The 6 other schools would resist the takeover (and demotion from a full member to an associate member of a conference with divergent goals).
The Atlantic Hockey schools are, for the most part, nonviable options. Atlantic Hockey is a limited scholarship league, and with Quinnipiac already in the ECAC, the only member who may want to upgrade is Mercyhurst, and that would pose travel problems.
As for the ECAC schools, the Ivies will not be broken up, Q just spent some cash to buy into the league, and Union is not allowed to add scholarships. The other 4 members (RPI, Clarkson, SLU, and Colgate) would be poor replacements for any lost Hockey East team besides Merrimack.
The CHA's Niagara poses similar concerns to Mercyhurst.
Personally, I chalk this story up to rumor mongering and bad reporting. If there is a nugget of truth, this move is likely being initiated by non-hockey schools, and the result is more likely to be an AEC schism, than a HEA schism. Follow the money, and for the schools that matter (UNH, UVM, BU, UMO) the answer is to do what's best for hockey. Proponents of the other AEC members may counter that a school woulnd't sabotage its entire department for one sport, but for hockey, these schools would. Div I hockey is the Div I-A football of northern New England.