Men's Hockey | 6/10/2013 9:27:00 AM

Click here for complete 2013-14 schedule

ROCHESTER, NY – The RIT men's hockey team unveiled its 2013-14 schedule on Monday, June 10. The Tigers, now entering their ninth season at the Division I level, will play 34 regular season games and one exhibition contest. RIT will play 16 regular season home games in its final season at Ritter Arena on the campus of RIT, one regular season contest at the Blue Cross Arena, and its first outdoor game in program history at Frontier Field, both in downtown Rochester.

The Tigers will play Division I powerhouse, University of Michigan at Blue Cross Arena during Brick City Homecoming and Family Weekend on Saturday, Oct. 12 at 7:05 p.m. It is the fifth straight year RIT will play downtown during its annual homecoming weekend. RIT has drawn sellout crowds of 10,556 fans during the last three Brick City Weekends against UMass Lowell, St. Lawrence, and Penn State.

Last season, RIT stunned the third ranked Wolverines with a dramatic 5-4 win in the season opener at famed Yost Arena in Ann Arbor, Mich. Michigan has won nine NCAA National Championships.

On Saturday, Dec. 14, RIT will host Atlantic Hockey Association rival Niagara in its first outdoor game in program history at Frontier Field, home of the Rochester Red Wings, the AAA affiliate of Major League Baseball's Minnesota Twins. The venue is expected to hold at least 10,000 seats and will take place at 7 p.m. as the nightcap of a doubleheader with RIT's women taking on Clarkson University earlier in the day.

On Saturday, Oct. 5, RIT hosts Queens University of Ontario in an exhibition contest at 7:05 p.m.

Five days later, on Oct. 10, RIT begins its final season at Ritter Arena with a non-conference home game against ECAC foe Colgate. In addition, RIT hosts fellow ECAC rival St. Lawrence for a pair of home games on Nov. 22-23. The Tigers play just three non-conference road games this season, all in October. RIT travels north to play Clarkson University in a pair of games on Oct. 18-19, then faces Penn State of the Big Ten Conference at the brand new Pegula Ice Arena on Oct. 25. Five of RIT's seven non-conference games are against ECAC opponents.

"We are ready to get going on the 2013-14 season, as we have another challenging schedule," said RIT Head Coach Wayne Wilson. "We play our first outdoor game at Frontier Field, which will be very exciting not only for our players, but our fans, and alumni as well. We are again excited to be playing at Blue Cross Arena where we will welcome Michigan, a storied NCAA program. We have sold out three years in a row and this season's ticket will be even more difficult to get."

The Tigers will play Atlantic Hockey Association western pod foes Air Force, Canisius, Mercyhurst, Niagara, and Robert Morris three times, and play two games apiece against eastern teams American International, Army, Bentley, Connecticut, Holy Cross, and Sacred Heart. In all, 27 of RIT's 34 games will be against Atlantic Hockey Association opponents.

RIT opens AHA regular season play with a home contest against rival Air Force on Nov. 1 at Ritter Arena, starting at 7:05 p.m. The Tigers travel west to play two contests at Air Force on Feb. 21-22, both at 9:05 p.m. In addition to playing Niagara at Frontier Field on Dec. 14, the two teams play a home-and-home at Dwyer Arena on Jan. 24, then back at Ritter Arena the following night.

RIT plays three straight road games against Mercyhurst, Robert Morris, and Canisius in a span of five days from Nov. 8-Nov. 13. RIT hosts Robert Morris and Mercyhurst on consecutive weekends, Feb. 7-8 and Feb. 14-15. The Tigers end the with a home-and-home with the Golden Griffins, away on Feb. 28 and home on March 1.

RIT plays its final 21 games against conference foes. The Tigers host AHA eastern pod competitors American International on Dec. 6-7, Army on Jan. 17-18, and Holy Cross on Jan. 31-Feb. 1. RIT then travels to play two games at Sacred Heart, Connecticut, and Bentley. This is Connecticut's last season in the AHA, as they will move to Hockey East for the 2014-15 season.

The Atlantic Hockey Association playoffs begin with a best-of-three series for the fifth through twelfth place finishers from March 7-9. The top four teams get a first round bye. Quarterfinal action will be held at the top-four sites from March 14-16. The Atlantic Hockey Association Tournament Semifinals and Championship will be held on March 21-22 at the Blue Cross Arena for the eighth straight season.

RIT will look to earn its second berth in the NCAA Tournament as a Division I program. The 2014 NCAA Division I Tournament begins on March 28, and ends with the Frozen Four on April 10 and April 12 at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pa.

"Every game in our league is a battle, night in and night out, so this will help prepare us for the postseason as we hope to get back to the NCAA's this year," said Wilson, now entering his 15th season behind the bench at RIT. "We hope to see everyone cheering loud in our final season at Ritter Arena."

Last season, RIT finished with a 15-18-5 record and advanced to the AHA Quarterfinals for the sixth straight season. RIT is 145-90-32 since the start of the 2006-07 season, including an AHA title and NCAA Frozen Four berth in 2010.

Beginning in 2014-15, RIT will move to the Gene Polisseni Center, a brand new, state of the arena that will seat 4,500 fans. RIT has played in Ritter Arena since the 1968-69 season.

Season and single game ticket information will be released at a later date at www.ritathletics.com and www.rithockey.com.