Posted: Oct 19, 2011
The State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) announced today its 2011 Men’s Ice Hockey Preseason Coaches Polls. Coaches voted for every team in the conference and points were assigned for each vote (eight for first, seven for second, etc.). Teams are ranked in order of highest point total to lowest with first place votes shown in parentheses.
With seven first place votes, Oswego earned the top spot for the second straight year. Head coach Ed Gosek and the Lakers are coming off a season where they posted an overall record of 23-5-0 and a conference record of 15-1-0, but came up short of defending their 2010 league title. Oswego earned an at-large bid into the national tournament and made its first back-to-back appearance at the NCAA Division III Frozen Four.
With 54 points and one first place vote, reigning SUNYAC champion Plattsburgh edged out the Knights of Geneseo by one point to take second place. The Cardinals have won three of the last four SUNYAC titles and made their fourth consecutive trip and 19th overall to the NCAA tournament last year where they were eliminated by Norwich for the second year. The team finished 20-8-1 overall and 9-7 in conference play.
The Geneseo Ice Knights enter the 2011-12 season looking to continue their rise back to the top of the SUNYAC as they try to unseat perennial favorites Oswego and Plattsburgh. The Ice Knights finished the 2010-11 campaign with a record of 16-8-2 and a second place mark of 10-5-1 in SUNYAC. Geneseo garnered a bye in the first round of the conference playoffs before being eliminated by Plattsburgh in the semifinals in an entertaining 3-2 overtime contest.
Fredonia enters the season looking to improve on the number of wins from a year ago when they finished 14-13-1. However the Blue Devils found a way to win at the end of the season making a trip to the SUNYAC finals as the #6 seed in the tournament, which included a big 2-1 overtime win against #1 nationally ranked Oswego in the semifinals.
Completing the poll was Buffalo State, Morrisville, Brockport, Cortland and Potsdam.
SUNYAC conference games begin Friday, October 28. The six-team SUNYAC tournament will be held on February 22, February 25 and March 3, 2011 on campuses. The top-two squads will receive a first-round bye.
2011 SUNYAC Men’s Ice Hockey Pre-Season Poll
1. Oswego 63 (7)
2. Plattsburgh 54 (1)
3. Geneseo 53 (1)
4. Fredonia 44
5. Buffalo St. 33
6. Morrisville 29
7. Brockport 16
Cortland 16
Potsdam 16
