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Holy Cross and Mercyhurst tabbed preseason favorites
September 28, 2005
WAKEFIELD, Mass. -- Mercyhurst College Lakers and the College of Holy Cross Crusaders have been tabbed the top teams in the Atlantic Hockey Association Preseason Coaches Poll.
The Lakers and the Crusaders received 59 points apiece with Mercyhurst obtaining four first place votes while Holy Cross earned three first place votes.
The Sacred Heart University Pioneers have been chosen third with 49 points, while collecting the final first place vote. Rounding out the top five are the Canisius College Golden Griffins (40 points) and the University of Connecticut Huskies (29 points).
The Bentley College Falcons (23 points), Army Black Knights (18 points) and American International Yellow Jackets (11 points) were picked in positions six through eight by the leagues coaches.
Mercyhurst began last year’s playoff as the third seed and won its first-ever Atlantic Hockey Tournament crown. The Lakers nearly upset top-seeded Boston College in the First Round of the NCAA Division I Tournament last March, dropping a 5-4 decision.
Holy Cross, the 2004 Atlantic Hockey Tournament Champions, will host the semifinals and finals of the 2006 Atlantic Hockey Tournament to be held at the Hart Center with the semifinals on Friday, March 17 and the finals set for Saturday, March 18. The quarterfinal round will be Saturday, March 11 at the site of the highest seed.
The Lakers will kick off the 2005-06 season with a non-conference weekend series with the Michigan Tech Huskies starting on Friday, October 7. The Atlantic Hockey slate will kick-off on Friday, October 28 with three games on tap. Army will travel to Holy Cross, Canisius will battle Sacred Heart and Connecticut will take on Mercyhurst.
The Atlantic Hockey Association arose when nine institutions joined together on June 30, 2003, to found a new Division-I men’s ice hockey conference. The league currently consists of eight members: American International College, Army, Bentley College, Canisius College, the University of Connecticut, the College of the Holy Cross, Mercyhurst College, and Sacred Heart University. Next season the Air Force Academy and Rochester Institute of Technology will join Atlantic Hockey beginning next season.
2005-06 Atlantic Hockey Association Preseason Coaches Poll
1. (tie) Mercyhurst (4) 59 points
1. (tie) Holy Cross (3) 59
3. Sacred Heart (1) 49
4. Canisius 40
5. Connecticut 29
6. Bentley 23
7. Army 18
8. American International 11
(First Place votes)
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