Men’s hockey to open 2009-2010 season against Colgate Saturday at Blue Cross Arena

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Goaltender Jared DeMichiel will look to lead the Tigers past Colgate in the 2009-2010 regular season opener on Saturday.

The RIT men’s hockey team hosts the Colgate University Raiders in the 2009-2010 season opener this Saturday at Blue Cross Arena in downtown Rochester. The 7:05 p.m. game is the focal point of RIT’s Brick City Homecoming and Family Weekend.

RIT returns 19 players overall and four of its top six scorers from last season’s squad that was the second-highest scoring team in all of Division I and set a Division I team record with 23 wins. Senior captain and defenseman Dan Ringwald is a 2009 Hobey Baker candidate after back-to-back 34-point seasons. Junior assistant captain Andrew Favot and sophomores Tyler Brenner and Cameron Burt return after scoring at least 30 points each last season. Goaltender Jared DeMichiel is back after posting a 13-6-0 mark and a 2.70 goals against average in 2008-2009.

The Tigers were the 2009 regular season co-champions of Atlantic Hockey. This season, they were picked to finish third in the Atlantic Hockey Association standings in a preseason coaches’ poll.

Colgate finished last season with a 12-18-7 record and set a Division I record by playing in 19 overtime games. The Raiders are picked to finish seventh in the ECAC Hockey standings by the league’s preseason coaches’ poll. Colgate has a total of six players on this year’s roster who have been chosen in the NHL Draft.

Colgate leads the all-time series between the two clubs, 6-1-0. The Raiders have defeated RIT once since the Tigers moved to Division I, 6-5 at Starr Rink in Hamilton on Oct.13, 2007.

Tickets for Saturday’s game are available at the Gordon Field House and Activities Center Box Office or by phone at 585-475-4121. Fans can also purchase tickets via ticketmaster.com or at the Blue Cross Arena Box Office. Tickets are $12 for adults, $10 for alumni, faculty and staff and $6 for RIT students (at Gordon Field House only) with ID before Saturday. On Saturday, tickets are $12 for adults and $9 for students with ID.

The Democrat and Chronicle and Fidelity Investments are Saturday’s sponsors. The first 4,000 fans in attendance will receive a free RIT Hockey T-shirt. In addition, the first 3,000 fans will receive RIT SportsZone towels.

Saturday’s game can be heard on WITR-FM (89.7).

For more, visit RIT Athletics.