September 15, 2009
Air Force Tops AHA Preseason Poll Again
CHN Staff Report
HAVERHILL, Mass. — Last year’s tournament champion, Air Force, is the top pick in the Atlantic Hockey preseason poll. The Falcons collected eight first-place votes.
Air Force, which made its third straight NCAA tournament appearance last March, fell to Vermont in the East Regional Final at the Bridgeport Arena, 3-2, in double overtime. The previous night the Falcons upset top-seed Michigan, 2-0 to advance to the regional final versus Vermont.
Mercyhurst, runner-up to the Falcons in the Atlantic Hockey Tournament for a second straight season, is chosen second with 70 points with the two remaining first-place votes. Rounding out the rest of the top five teams are RIT (67 points), Holy Cross (54) and Canisius (53).
The 2009 Tournament will be the same format from a year ago. There will be two First Round contests with the 7th seed hosting the 10th seed and the 8th seed hosting the 9th seed in the single elimination contest on Saturday, March 6. The Quarterfinal Round will take place on the Friday, March 12-Sunday, March 14 and feature four match-ups in a best two-out-of-three format.
The four winners will then travel to the Blue Cross Arena in Rochester, N.Y. 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 19. The two semifinal winners will then face off in the Championship game on Saturday, March 20 with the NCAA automatic berth on the line.
Exhibition contests kick off the start of the Atlantic Hockey season on Saturday, October 3 as the Royal Military College faces Connecticut. The regular season begins the following weekend with four Atlantic Hockey institutions in action. Ferris State travels to Canisius, while Air Force travels to face Bemidji State.
Army takes part in the Icebreaker to be held at the Qwest Center in Omaha, Neb., as the Black Knights will take on the host Nebraska-Omaha. Mercyhurst makes the long journey to Alaska to participate in the Kendall Hockey Classic in Anchorage and will also face the tournament host in the opening game.
The first conference action will take place on the weekend of October 23-24, as Bentley will host Connecticut, and RIT travels to Air Force.
Next season, the league increases to 12 teams, with Niagara and Robert Morris scheduled to enter.
2009-10 Atlantic Hockey Preseason Coach’s Poll
1. Air Force (8) 80
2. Mercyhurst (2) 70
3. RIT 67
4. Holy Cross 54
5. Canisius 53
6. Army 40
7. Bentley 31
8. Sacred Heart 27
9. Connecticut 18
10. American International 10
