WALTHAM, Mass. – The Bentley Falcons have been picked 3^rd in the Atlantic Hockey Preseason Coaches' Poll, it was announced during the league's annual media day in Rochester, N.Y. The poll is compiled from votes from the league's 11 head coaches.

Bentley received 72 points to check in at third in the poll. They came in behind only Robert Morris, which received 97 points and seven first-place votes, and defending conference champions RIT, which received 91 points and four first-place votes.

Canisius (64 points) came in behind Bentley in fourth, and Sacred Heart (56 points) rounds out the top-five.

Bentley is coming off a 17-15-5 season with a 14-9-5 Atlantic Hockey record which saw them finish tied for 3^rd in the regular season, after a 2^nd place finish in 2013-14. The team returns 18 players from last season, with nine new additions to the roster.

The team returns its top-two scorers from 2014-15 in senior Andrew Gladiuk (White Rock, B.C./Nanaimo) and junior Max French (West Kelowna, B.C./West Kelowna). Five of eight defensemen are back, highlighted by seniors Matt Blomquist (Blaine, Minn./Coulee Region) and Billy Eiserman (Newburyport, Mass./Chicago Steel). Jayson Argue (Swan River, Manitoba/Nanaimo) returns between the pipes are a strong freshman season.

The season gets underway at home on Friday, Oct. 9 when the Falcons host Mercyhurst for the first of two games that weekend.  

2015-16 Atlantic Hockey Preseason Poll

1) Robert Morris (7) – 97

2) RIT (4) – 91

3) Bentley – 72

4) Canisius – 64

5) Sacred Heart – 56

6) Holy Cross – 55

7) Air Force – 47

8) Mercyhurst – 46

9) Niagara – 38

10) Army West Point – 29

11) AIC – 10