Army selected sixth in Atlantic Hockey preseason poll

Army was chosen to finish sixth in the Atlantic Hockey preseason coaches poll announced Tuesday.

The Black Knights received 56 votes, trailing four-time defending regular-season champion American International (88), Sacred Heart (76), Air Force (68), Rochester Institute of Technology (66) and Canisius (62). Trailing the Black Knights are Mercyhurst (37), Bentley (33), Niagara (31) and Holy Cross (23).

Army's Brian Riley has been head coach of the Black Knights since the 2004-05 season.
Army's Brian Riley has been head coach of the Black Knights since the 2004-05 season.

The preseason player of the year was split three ways, between Canisius senior netminder Jacob Barczewski, Sacred Heart senior forward Neil Shea and RIT sophomore forward Carter Wilkie. Joining the trio on the preseason all-star team are AIC senior forward Blake Bennett, Sacred Heart senior defenseman Logan Britt and Air Force senior defenseman Brandon Koch.

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Army senior defenseman Anthony Firriolo and junior goaltender Gavin Abric also received votes.

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Army was 14-17-4 last season, finishing third in the league at 12-11-3. Army was swept by two overtime losses to Air Force in the quarterfinals. The Black Knights graduated six seniors, notably forwards Colin Bilek, Daniel Haider and Eric Butte.

Firriolo and senior defenseman Thomas Farrell have been named captains for the 2022-23 season, which gets underway Oct. 2 when Union College visits Tate Rink.

kmcmillan@th-record.com

Twitter: @KenMcMillanTHR

This article originally appeared on Times Herald-Record: Army West Point Atlantic Hockey preseason poll