ROCHESTER, NY – The RIT men’s hockey team was picked to finish first in the 2016-17 Atlantic Hockey Conference preseason poll, as voted on by the conference’s coaches, and announced at the conference’s annual media day held via teleconference on Monday, Sept. 19. This is Atlantic Hockey’s 14th season of competition.
The Tigers, two-time defending Atlantic Hockey Champions, received eight first place votes and 95 total points. RIT finished fifth during the 2015-16 regular season before defeating Mercyhurst, Air Force, and Robert Morris to claim its third league title since 2010. RIT represented Atlantic Hockey in the 2016 NCAA Division I Tournament against No. 1 overall seed Quinnipiac University in the East Region.
Air Force, who RIT defeated in overtime in the 2016 Atlantic Hockey Semifinal, is picked to finish second in the 2016-17 preseason poll, with two first place votes and 88 total points. Holy Cross has the other first place vote and is predicted to finish third with 72 points.
Army West Point, who advanced to last season’s league semifinal and Mercyhurst, who placed fourth in the regular season standings are tied for fourth in the 2016-17 preseason poll with 70 points. The 2015 and 2016 regular season champion and tournament finalist, Robert Morris, is picked to finish sixth with 60 points, while Sacred Heart is seventh with 48 points.
RIT returns 19 players from last season’s squad, including 12 forwards, four defensemen and all three goaltenders. In addition, seven highly touted newcomers join the squad for the 2016-17 season, giving RIT excellent depth as they look to earn its third straight league title.
“It is nice to be picked first in the poll, but we know it is not where you start, but how you finish,” said RIT head coach Wayne Wilson. “We are looking forward to another challenging season where every game is a battle.”
The bottom four of the poll sees Bentley in eighth with 43 points, Canisius ninth with 27 points, and Niagara tenth with 17 points. Rounding out the 2016-17 preseason poll is American International in 11th with 15 points.
With 11 teams in Atlantic Hockey, the Tigers will play four games against Air Force, Bentley, Canisius, and Robert Morris and two each versus American International, Army West Point, Holy Cross, Mercyhurst, Niagara, and Sacred Heart. In all, 28 of RIT’s 34 games are against AHC rivals.
The 2016 Atlantic Hockey Tournament will feature the same format for the fifth straight season. The top five teams receive a bye into the quarterfinal round with seeds 6-8 hosting seeds 9-11 in a best two-out-of-three weekend series starting Friday, March 3. The first round winners will then be re-seeded and travel to the top-three seeds, as the fifth seed will travel to the fourth seed for a best-two-out-of-three quarterfinal series, which will begin on Friday, March 10. The four winners will then travel to the Blue Cross Arena in downtown Rochester with the highest remaining seed facing the lowest remaining seed in the first semifinal, with the other two remaining seeds facing off in the second semifinal on Friday, March 17. The two semifinal winners will then face-off in the Championship game on Saturday, March 18 with the NCAA automatic berth on the line.
RIT opens the 2016-17 season with an exhibition contest against Brock University on Saturday, Oct. 1 at 7:05 p.m. The Tigers open the regular season with a rematch of the 2016 Atlantic Hockey Championship, hosting Robert Morris for pair of home games on Friday, Oct. 7 and Saturday, Oct. 8. On Saturday, Oct. 15, RIT hosts the University of Connecticut at Blue Cross Arena as part of Brick City Homecoming and Family Weekend.
RIT was also chosen first in 2007-08, 2010-11, and 2011-12, and third in both 2008-09, and 2009-10. Last year, RIT was picked to finish second and placed fifth in the regular season before making its postseason run to the championship. RIT won the regular season title the first three seasons they were not picked to finish first.
RIT has won four Atlantic Hockey regular season titles and made three straight trips to the AHC Championship game from 2010-12. In 2010, RIT won its first AHA postseason title, parlaying that success into an historic run to the NCAA Tournament, where they advanced to the Frozen Four.
2016-17 Atlantic Hockey Association Preseason Coaches Poll
1. RIT (8 first place votes) – 95 points
2. Air Force (2) – 88 points
3. Holy Cross (1) – 72 points
T4. Mercyhurst – 70 points
T4. Army West Point – 70 points
6. Robert Morris – 60 points
7. Sacred Heart – 48 points
8. Bentley – 43 points
9. Canisius – 27 points
10. Niagara – 17 points
11. American International – 15 points
(First Place votes)
