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Air Force tabbed top team in Atlantic Hockey by coaches
Click here to read coaches poll release (doc).
The Atlantic Hockey Association coaches have voted who they
believe will take home the regular season crown for the
10th season of Atlantic Hockey. Last year’s
regular season and tournament champions, Air Force is the top pick
in this year’s pre-season poll. The Falcons collected
eight (8) first place votes en route to 112 total points.
Niagara was selected second by the coaches, as the Purple Eagles
collected three (3) first place votes and totaled 101 points.
Mercyhurst follows in third with 89 points, while Bentley and RIT
tied for fourth with 87 points. Holy Cross rounds out the top
six with 74 points.
In seventh place, Connecticut collected with 65 points, while
Robert Morris is eighth with 61 points and the final first place
vote. Canisius was chosen ninth with 38, while Army trails
them for tenth with 30 points. Rounding out the rest of the
poll are American International in 11th (20 points) and Sacred
Heart in 12th (19 points).
Niagara will open the regular season hosting Bowling Green on
Saturday, October 6 at 4:00 pm. The other games on the slate
for the opening weekend will be exhibition contests. Holy Cross
will host St. Thomas at 3:00 pm, Mercyhurst will take on Wilfrid
Laurier and RIT will host Ottawa both at 7:05 pm. Canisius
will take on Ottawa in an exhibition contest Sunday, while Sacred
Heart and Robert Morris will face St. Thomas and Wilfrid Laurier,
respectively. Air Force will host British Columbia in an
exhibition contest on Monday, October 7.
The 2013 Atlantic Hockey Tournament will feature the same format
from last year. The top four teams receive a bye into the
Quarterfinals with seeds 5-8 hosting seeds 9-12 in a best
two-out-of-three First Round series starting Friday, March 8.
The First Round winners will then be re-seeded and travel to the
top four seeds for a best-two-out-of-three Quarterfinal series,
which will begin on Friday, March 15. 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 22. The two semifinal
winners will then face-off in the Championship game on Saturday,
March 23 with the NCAA automatic berth on the line.
The Atlantic Hockey Association arose when nine institutions
joined together on June 30, 2003, to form a new Division-I
men’s ice hockey conference. The league currently consists of
twelve members: Air Force Academy, American International College,
Army, Bentley University, Canisius College, the University of
Connecticut, the College of the Holy Cross, Mercyhurst University,
Niagara University, Robert Morris University, Rochester Institute
of Technology and Sacred Heart University.
2012-13 Atlantic Hockey Association Preseason Coaches Poll
1. Air Force (8) 112
2. Niagara (3) 101
3. Mercyhurst 89
4. Bentley 87
Rochester Instit. of Technology 87
6. Holy Cross 74
7. Connecticut 65
8. Robert Morris (1) 61
9. Canisius 38
10. Army 30
11. American International 20
12. Sacred Heart 19
(First Place votes)
