Winthrop, Mass. - The Robert Morris University men's hockey team was predicted to finish second in the Atlantic Hockey conference preseason coaches poll, the league announced Tuesday morning. The Colonials received two first place votes, behind Air Force which received eight and ahead of Canisius which was given one.
The Colonials are coming off their fourth 20-plus win season in the last five years, finishing as conference runners-up in the tournament championship game for the second straight season. Robert Morris was predicted sixth in last season's poll and finished fourth overall in the regular season before winning its way to a championship game appearance for the third time in the last four years.
"We are very excited for the start of the season," said Colonials head coach
Derek Schooley. "We appreciate the recognition and respect the coaches have shown our program."
"As all coaches know, it is just a preseason poll and there is a lot of hockey to be played. We look forward to starting our 14th season of competition."
2017-18 Atlantic Hockey Conference Preseason Coaches Poll
1. Air Force - (8 first place votes) - 97 points
2. Robert Morris - (2) - 87 points
3. Army West Point - 76 points
4. RIT - 70 points
5. Canisius - (1) - 65 points
6. Holy Cross - 58 points
7. Mercyhurst - 52 points
8. Bentley - 38 points
9. AIC - 27 points
10. Sacred Heart - 20 points
11. Niagara - 15 points
Robert Morris was chosen second behind #17 Air Force, the team that won the league championship in 2016-17 with a 2-1 victory over the Colonials. The Falcons advanced to the second round of the NCAA tournament and similar to the Colonials, return many key members to this season's squad, minus goaltender Shane Starrett who elected to sign a professional contract.
The Colonials are also receiving votes in the USCHO.com Preseason poll, five spots outside the Top 20.
RMU returns more than 80-percent of the team's offense along with nearly all of its defense and a pair of goaltenders who combined to start 31 of 38 games for the Colonials, including AHC all-rookie team selection Francis Marotte. Marotte is one of a trio of current Colonials to spend part of the summer at an NHL development camp (Marotte - Vancouver, Ferguson - Pittsburgh, Tonge - Winnipeg). The sophomore netminder finished the season ranked fourth in the NCAA in save percentage with a .931 and eighth in goals against with a 2.08 average. Marotte played in 29 games making 27 starts, recording an 17-8-3 mark with two shutouts.
Senior forward Brady Ferguson is the NCAA's leading active career scorer with 118 points and had the highest scoring season in 2016-17 of any returning NCAA men's hockey player with an RMU single-season record 58 points. Ferguson was a unanimous all-conference first team selection last season while taking home the 2016-17 Atlantic Hockey scoring trophy.
Ferguson's linemate, junior Alex Tonge (44 points), and fellow senior forwards Timmy Moore (25) and Spencer Dorowicz (16) are among the double-digit scoring returners, along with sophomore forwards Luke Lynch (20), Daniel Mantenuto (14) and Matthew Graham (10).
Defenseman Eric Israel racked up 30 points as a major contributor on the power play. The sophomore was the conference's leading scoring defenseman and earned AHC third team honors as well. Captain Alex Bontje scored 10 points and blocked 61 shots, ranked ninth in Atlantic Hockey. Israel was 17th in the conference with 54 blocked shots and senior Elias Ghantous blocked 51 shots (19th).
The Colonials will play en exhibition contest against the University of Ottawa on Saturday, September 30 at 7:05pm at Colonials Arena at the RMU Island Sports Center, before opening the regular season on October 6 at Niagara University.
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