WALTHAM, Mass. – Bentley has been picked 8^th in the Atlantic Hockey Preseason Poll, as voted on by the conference's 11 head coaches, it was revealed during the annual media day on Tuesday.

The Falcons picked up 38 points to check in at 8^th in the poll. Defending Atlantic Hockey champs Air Force topped the poll with 97 points and eight first place votes.

Bentley, which opens the season on Oct. 10^th at home to AIC, is set to return nine of its top-10 scorers from a season ago. Captain Kyle Schmidt (Menomonee Falls, Wisc.) tops that list, coming off a season where he scored 18 goals, which was 4^th most in Atlantic Hockey, and notched 33 points, tied for 7^th most. All-Rookie team selection Ryner Gorowsky (Lino Lakes, Mich.) is the next leading returning scorer after he recorded a 7-16-23 scoring line, and he's followed by sophomore Jonathan Desbiens (Montreal, Quebec) (9-11-20) and junior Drew Callin (Middleton, Wisc.) (8-11-19).

Two defensemen graduated, but the five who played in the most amount of games all return. Senior Chris Buchanan (San Jose, Calif.), who has played in 105 career games entering the season, and assistant captain Tanner Jago (Brandon, Manitoba) highlight the group.

The Falcons' two starting goalies both return in senior Jayson Argue (Swan River, Manitoba) and sophomore Aidan Pelino (Oakville, Ontario). The two shared time in net last season, as Argue started 26 games and Pelino 13. Argue will enter the season as one of the most experienced net minders in Atlantic Hockey with 63 career starts under his belt.

2017-18 Atlantic Hockey Preseason Poll

1. Air Force-97 points (8)
2. Robert Morris-87 points (2)
3. Army-76 points
4. RIT-70 points
5. Canisius-65 points (1)
6. Holy Cross-58 points
7. Mercyhurst-52 points
8. Bentley-38 points
9. AIC-27 points
10. Sacred Heart-20 points
11. Niagara-15 points

First place votes in parenthesis