Men's Hockey | 10/9/2012 10:05:00 AM

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ROCHESTER, NY – The RIT men's hockey team opens the regular season on Thursday and Friday, traveling to Ann Arbor, Michigan to play two games at historic Yost Arena against perennial powerhouse Michigan, with both games getting underway at 7:35 p.m. Michigan is ranked third nationally in both the USCHO.com and USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine polls.

It will be the first ever meeting between the two schools.

RIT opened its 2012-13 season on Saturday by trouncing the University of Ottawa, 8-1 in an exhibition contest in front of 1,943 fans at Ritter Arena. Eight different players scored in the win, as Bryan Potts (Niagara Falls, Ontario/Markham Waxers) tallied three points on a goal and two assists. RIT outshot the Gee Gee's 45-22 and went 4-for-8 with the man advantage. Potts, Jeff Smith (Spokane, WA/Tri-City Storm), Chris Saracino (St. Louis, MO/Green Bay Gamblers), Matt Garbowsky (St. George, Ontario/Powell River Kings), Adam Hartley (West Vancouver, British Columbia/Surrey Eagles), Anthony Hamburg (Phoenix, AZ/Omaha Lancers), Ben Lynch (Blaine, MN/Lincoln Stars), and Andrew Miller (Chicago, IL/Chicago Steel) scored for RIT. Josh Watson (Lititz, PA/Powell River Kings) and Ken MacLean (Concord, MA/Kalamazoo Wings) combined to make 21 saves.

Michigan is picked to finish first in the Central Collegiate Hockey Association media poll and second in the preseason Coaches poll. Michigan has 11 NHL draft picks and return 18 players from last season's team that finished 24-13-4 and advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the 22nd consecutive season. Michigan has won nine NCAA National Championships. Sophomore Alex Gutpill is the leading returning scorer from last season with 33 points on 16 goals and 17 assists. Senior A.J. Treais was right behind with 15 goals and 17 assists.

The Tigers return 16 players from last season's squad that finished with 20 wins and advanced to the Atlantic Hockey Association Championship game for the third straight season. RIT enters the season with six straight seasons of at least 19 wins and will look to win its second AHA Championship.

Up front, the Tigers return nine players and four strong recruits which will help them improve upon last season's total of 2.48 goals per game. Several forwards have scored timely goals and will continue to improve with another year of collegiate experience.

Senior Adam Hartley (West Vancouver, British Columbia/Surrey Eagles), along with juniors Mike Colavecchia (Maple, Ontario/Lindsay Muskies), Adam Mitchell (Crofton, MD/Baystate Breakers), Ben Lynch (Blaine, MN/Lincoln Stars), and sophomores Matt Garbowsky (St. George, Ontario/Powell River Kings) and Brad McGowan (Langley, British Columbia/Surrey Eagles) will be expected to shoulder a big chunk of the offensive load. Colavecchia led the team in scoring with 32 points a year ago, while Hartley, Mitchell, and Lynch have enjoyed past success. Garbowsky and McGowan both had excellent freshmen seasons and are poised to have more success in 2012-13.

Senior Jeff Smith (Spokane, WA/Tri-City Storm) is one of RIT's top penalty killers and was plus-11 in just 28 games last season. Classmate Bryan Potts (Niagara Falls, Ontario/Markham Waxers) missed all but seven games due to injury last season but can be an explosive scorer when healthy. Sophomore Brad Reid (Delta, British Columbia/Coquitlam Express) played in 33 games last season and is expected to play a more physical role in 2012-13.

Sophomore transfer Anthony Hamburg (Phoenix, AZ/Omaha Lancers), RIT's first ever player drafted by an NHL team (Minnesota, 2010), along with talented freshmen Andrew Miller (Chicago, IL/Chicago Steel), Josh Mitchell (Osoyoos, British Columbia/Alberni Valley Bulldogs), and RIT's local Division I recruit Dan Schuler (Webster, NY/Powell River Kings) will play a vital role up front immediately.

Despite losing a trio of defensemen who combined to play in 391 career games to graduation, Head Coach Wayne Wilson is confident in his defensive unit. Saracino and Greg Noyes (Lucan, Ontario/Salmon Arm Silverbacks) will anchor the defensive group, forming one of the strongest pairings in the AHA. Saracino, who was limited to just 14 games due to injury last season, was the 2011 Catamount Cup MVP and had nine points. Noyes led all RIT defensemen in scoring with 20 points last year and will be expected to be the catalyst of RIT's power-play unit.

Juniors Nolan Descoteaux (Dallas, TX/South Shore Kings) and Eliot Raibl (Vancouver, British Columbia/Quesnel Millionaires), along with sophomore Stuart Brownell (Burlington, Ontario/Georgetown Raiders) are all poised to enjoy breakout seasons. Raibl played in 34 games last season, while Descoteaux appeared in 31 contests and has a booming shot from the point. Brownell, who stands 6-foot-4, missed most of last season due to injury, but has put on needed muscle in the offseason.

Wilson has brought in a trio of highly touted blueline prospects in Alexander Kuqali (Pittsburgh, PA/Sioux City Musketeers), Brad Shumway (Lafayette, CO/Chicago Steel), and Rajan Sidhu. All three defensemen have great size, play a physical game, and are strong skaters. The trio will be expected to vie for playing time immediately.

In net, the Tigers will have to replace two-time All-AHA first team selection, Shane Madolora (Salinas, CA/), who broke school records for shutouts in a season (7) and career (13), but return junior Josh Watson (Lititz, PA/Powell River Kings) and sophomore Jordan Ruby (Tavistock, Ontario/Wellington Dukes), both of which excelled in limited action last season. Watson posted a 1.63 goals against average in three appearances, including a win over nationally-ranked Lake Superior State. Ruby appeared in four games and earned his first collegiate win over Army.

Freshman Ken MacLean (Concord, MA/Kalamazoo Wings) will vie for playing time after a strong career in juniors.