As usual, Air Force is picked to be near the top of the Atlantic Hockey Association with rival the Rochester Institute of Technology, the league announced Tuesday at its annual media day.
RIT, the 2010-11 regular season champs, was picked to repeat while the Falcons, the postseason winner, was second by one point in the coaches preseason poll. Both squads received five first-place votes out of a possible 12.
Falcons coach Frank Serratore likes the respect shown, but the real goal is not the regular-season title, but the playoff championship, which means an automatic NCAA Tournament berth.
“Our goal right now is to finish in the top four and get the home ice bye in the playoffs,” he said. “Sure we’d like to win the league but the playoff title is first and foremost.”
Air Force has won the league playoff title and advance to the NCAAs four out of the past five seasons.
Serratore also affirmed that Air Force is happy staying in the AHA after an offseason full of conference realignments that included Colorado College helping form the National Collegiate Hockey Conference.
“It’s flattering to be the attractive girl everyone wants, but at the end of the day you have to decide if you’d be better off,” Serratore said. “If Air Force wanted to be in a different league we’d already be there or have helped create one.”
Atlantic Hockey Association
Coaches preseason poll
Team Pts. 1st-place votes
1. RIT 113 (5)
2. AFA 112 (5)
3. Holy Cross 103 (2)
4. Niagara 89
5. UConn 79
6. Robert Morris 70
7. Mercyhurst 59
8. Army 51
9. Canisius 42
10. Bentley 41
11. Sacred Heart 20
12. AIC 13
Yeah buddy. I’m ready for some hockey. It’s only a couple of weeks out and I’m already like a kid in the candy store. Let’s take it to em Falcons
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Does Air Force play D-III hockey?
If so, then it was a D-III team that gave #1 Yale their first loss last year, then lost a narrow 1 goal game to them in the NCAA tourney. And it was a D-III team that knocked #1 Michigan out of the NCAA tourney a couple years ago and came within a phantom goal fo making the Frozen Four.
Seriously . . . you look dumb and petty when you make a comment like that. If not for your user ID, I’d think you were a CC hockey fan!
(By the way, get ready for dimwitted comments from CC fans below saying that CC hockey players are the only “real” athletes in town, or some such nonsense. Anytime you see a post on this blog about AF hockey, it always draws out their insecurity. Come on guys . . . I know you’re out there!)
Thanks for that MKL. Well said. Let’s see what can happen this year. Bring it
Hey MLK – AF has ONE WIN in the last 30 years versus CC. And they used to play 2 games a season. In a sport such as hockey, that is complete dominance. Nuff said – LOL
I like how AF plays CC on December 30 this season, when many of the Tigers will be playing in The World Juniors Tournament. That sly Serratore, I’ll admit he’s not dumb. CC still wins – guaranteed.
I myself enjoy going to the AF hockey games…..hey it only cost me $2 a ticket. But that’s about the value I’m getting watching AF play Bentley, Mercyhurst, Robert Morris, Canisius, AIC, etc. ha ha ha
Everyone knows Yale was a joke last season. That’s why they did not make the Frozen Four. The ECAC is weak, but not as weak as the joke that is Atlantic Hockey (Division III – might as well be)
Ha, ha ha! What did I tell you . . . here come the CC fans, flouting their insecurity once again! You can almost set your watch to it.
Yale was a joke? They made it just as far as you did in the NCAA tourney, and finished ahead of you in the final poll!
a) What are you even doing here? This is a AF blog. Nobody here cares about CC. (Answer: Insecurity. But I guess I’d be insecure too if I were a fan of a school that most sports fans outside the state of Colorado have never even heard of…)
b) Why does it bug you so much that AF is finally competitive with you? Sure, we were non-competitive for a long period of time, but there’s no reason we ever should be given our recruiting limitations. (Answer: It’s another sign that you’re now minimally relevant in the world of college hockey college. You recruit Canadians and Euros, and yet still get your spotlight stolen locally by a Service Academy fielding a 100% American team with no pro aspirations!)
Let’s see who takes the bait this time! Come on guys . . . I know there’s a few more of you out there!
Have fun watching AF hockey. Might as well go to a high school hockey game. You must get free tickets MKL. Seems you are very patriotic, but doesn’t mean you have to “enjoy” AF hockey and be down on CC.
I’m a Sioux fan first, but living in Colorado Springs I do buy CC hockey season tickets – its great great hockey. I usually try to catch a couple AF hockey games as well – honestly its difficult to watch. But I do enjoy AF football very much.
MKL you don’t know anything about big time college hockey, enjoy the Division III games at cadet ice arena
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