Rochester Institute of Technology announced the men’s ice hockey schedule for the 2020-21 season.
The Tigers are scheduled to kick off the season next Friday (Nov. 27) hosting Niagara at the Polisseni Center before hitting the road on Saturday (Nov. 28) to take on the host Purple Eagles. Both games are set to face-off at 5:05 p.m.
To mitigate the risks associated with the coronavirus pandemic, Atlantic Hockey split the league into East and West pods for the season. Playing in the West pod, RIT is slated to face Canisius, Mercyhurst, Niagara and Robert Morris five times apiece. The Tigers are also scheduled to take on Air Force twice as the geographic outlying Falcons are slated to play doubleheaders against all 10 teams in both pods. RIT is set to face first-year program Long Island University in a pair of non-league games to round out its 24-game regular season.
All 11 conference teams will advance to Atlantic Hockey Tournament scheduled over three weekends in March, culminating with the semifinal and championship games at the LECOM HarborCenter in Buffalo, N.Y.
RIT recently canceled all winter sports competitions following the Liberty League’s announcement to cancel all Division III winter competitions and championships due to ongoing health and safety concerns related to COVID-19. However, RIT reconsidered the decision for its Division I men’s and women’s ice hockey programs after Atlantic Hockey and College Hockey American (the conference RIT’s women are affiliated with) both submitted return-to-play safety plans to New York State for approval.
All games are subject to change throughout the season. Fans should stay tuned to RITathletics.com as well as @RITMHKY on Twitter for the latest updates.
Fans will not be admitted for any games until further notice. However, all games are scheduled to be webcast on a subscription basis via FloHockey.tv.
RIT returns after finishing 2019-20 with a 19-13-4 (15-9-4 AHA) record for its winningest season in five years. The Tigers closed the regular season third in the Atlantic Hockey standings for its highest conference finish since 2015.
Kyle leads sports coverage and hosts the Concrete Jungle podcast. Have a lead or question? Send it to [email protected].