University of Connecticut Athletics
Huskies Tabbed For Ninth In Atlantic Hockey Preseason Poll
9/15/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Ice Hockey
Sept. 15, 2009
HAVERHILL, Mass. - The University of Connecticut men's hockey team was picked to finish ninth in the conference for the upcoming 2009-10 season in the preseason coaches poll. The Huskies tabbed 18 votes from the nine other conference coaches.
Last year's tournament champion, Air Force is the top pick in the preseason poll. The Falcons collected eight (8) first place votes en route to 80 total points. Air Force, which made its third straight NCAA Tournament appearance last March, fell to Vermont in the East Regional Final at the Bridgeport Arena in Bridgeport, Conn., 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 final five places are garnered by Army (40), Bentley (31), Sacred Heart (27), Connecticut (18) and American International (10). Bentley is the only squad that is chosen in the bottom five of the poll that was at the Blue Cross Arena in Rochester, N.Y. a year ago after finishing the regular season as the fourth seed.
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.
The Huskies will be the first team to begin play when they host an exhibition match on Saturday, October 3 as the Royal Military College.
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 UConn travels to Bentley, and Air Force hosts RIT.
2009-10 Atlantic Hockey Association Preseason Coach's Poll
1. Air Force (8)............................................................................................ 80
2. Mercyhurst (2)......................................................................................... 70
3. Rochester Institute of Technology.............................................................. 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
