Men's Hockey | 6/13/2017 11:21:00 AM

ROCHESTER, NY – The RIT men's hockey team unveiled its 2017-18 season schedule on Wednesday, June 14. The Tigers will play 34 regular season games and one exhibition contest in their 13th Division I season. RIT will play 16 regular season home games in its fourth season at the 4,300-seat Gene Polisseni Center, and one contest at Blue Cross Arena in downtown Rochester in addition to 17 away games.

On Friday, Oct. 6, RIT will kick off the season with its "Orange and White" intersquad scrimmage at 6:05 p.m., followed by the annual "Skate with the Tigers" event right after. The following night, RIT hosts Brock University in an exhibition contest at 7:05 p.m.
 
The Tigers will open the 2017-18 regular season against Northeastern University, the 2016 Hockey East Champions, at Blue Cross Arena during Brick City Homecoming & Family Weekend on Saturday, Oct. 14, at 7:05 p.m. It is the 11th straight year RIT will play downtown during its annual homecoming weekend. RIT has drawn sellout crowds of 10,556 fans each of the last seven Brick City Weekends, making it one of the most sought-after tickets in Rochester.
 
"We are looking forward to having the Orange and White game and Skate with the Tigers right away, where fans can get their first glimpse of our team and in particular, our new players," said head coach Wayne Wilson, who enters his 19th season behind the bench at RIT in 2017-18. "It will be great to welcome our alumni back and host Northeastern downtown in what should hopefully be another packed house at Blue Cross Arena, in one of the best college hockey environments around."
 
The following weekend, Oct. 20-21, the Tigers play their first two games at the Gene Polisseni Center against Union College and Rensselaer of the ECAC. RIT will also play former Atlantic Hockey rival University of Connecticut at the XL Center in Hartford on Nov. 25 and wrap up the non-conference slate with a pair of contests at 2015 NCAA Champion Providence College on Dec. 8-9.

"Our tough non-conference schedule always prepares us for league play, and this year is no different," said Wilson. "Union was the top team in the ECAC in 2017 and to play them and Rensselaer at home will be a great early season challenge. The schedule doesn't get any easier, as we head to Connecticut right after Thanksgiving and play two games at 2017 NCAA participant Providence to wrap up non-league play."
 
With 11 teams in Atlantic Hockey, the Tigers will play four games against Air Force Academy, The College of the Holy Cross, Mercyhurst University, and Robert Morris and two each versus American International College, Army West Point, Bentley University, Canisius College, Niagara University, and Sacred Heart University. In all, 28 of RIT's 34 games are against AHC rivals.
 
The Tigers make their first road trip of the season on Oct. 27-28, opening league play with a pair of contests at Army West Point. RIT returns home for back-to-back weekends, as Robert Morris comes to town on Nov. 3-4 and American International invades the Polisseni Center on Nov. 10-11. RIT makes its longest road trip of the season across two time zones to face rival Air Force, the defending league champions on Nov. 17-18. The Tigers play their final two home games of the fall semester against Holy Cross on Dec. 1-2.

RIT will play its final 18 games of the regular season against Atlantic Hockey foes, starting with a pair of road games at Mercyhurst to close out 2017 on Dec. 29-30. The Tigers begin 2018 with two more road games at Niagara on Jan 5-6. With students returning after the holiday break, RIT plays four straight home contests, two against Air Force on Jan. 12-13 and a pair against Canisius the following weekend. The Tigers finish January at Holy Cross for two games on Jan. 26-27.
 
RIT begins the month of February at home against Bentley on Feb. 2-3, before hitting the road for two tough series, first at Robert Morris on Feb. 9-10 and at Sacred Heart the next weekend, then heads back home for its final home games of the regular season. RIT closes out the regular season with two home games on Feb. 23-24 vs. Mercyhurst.
 
"Our league schedule is tough as always, and we look forward to getting back to the top of the standings," said Wilson. "We think this will be a very entertaining season and hope to see everyone packing the Polisseni Center."

The Atlantic Hockey playoffs begin with a best-of-three series for the sixth through 11th place finishers from March 2-4. The top five teams get a first round bye. Quarterfinal action will be held at the top four sites from March 9-11. The Atlantic Hockey Tournament Semifinals and Championship will be held on March 16-17 at the Blue Cross Arena for the 12th straight season.

RIT will look to earn its third league title in four seasons and fourth berth in the NCAA Tournament as a Division I program. The 2017 NCAA Division I Tournament begins on March 23 and ends with the Frozen Four on April 5 and April 7 at the Xcel Energy Center in Minneapolis.

The Tigers are 209-157-49 since the start of the 2006-07 season. RIT, the 2010, 2015, and 2016 Atlantic Hockey Champions, won 14 games during the 2016-17 season.
 
Season and single game ticket information will be released in the near future at www.ritathletics.com and www.rittickets.com. Season ticket package renewals begin July 10, while new season ticket sales start for the RIT community July 24 and general public on July 28. Single game, flex pack, and group tickets will go sale on Aug. 7. For more information, contact the Gene Polisseni Center box office at 585-475-2516 or visit www.rittickets.com.