2010-11 Season Outlook /
ECAC Hockey
ALBANY, N.Y. – The 2010-11 ECAC Hockey Coaches' Pre-Season All-League Team has been announced and two Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) student-athletes – forward
Chase Polacek and goaltender
Allen York – have been selected. The league also released the Coaches' Poll, which has the Engineers ranked fourth in the 12-team league.
Polacek, a senior from Edina, Minn., led ECAC Hockey in numerous categories on his way to capturing prestigious accolades last season, including ECAC Hockey Player of the Year, Hobey Baker Award finalist and National All-America. In 39 games he had 26 goals and 26 assists for 52 points. Twenty-eight of his points (13 goals, 15 assists) came on the power play and he had two shorthanded goals and a pair of game-winners.
At season's end Polacek, an assistant captain, ranked first in the league in points, points per game (1.33), power play points and shorthanded points (5). He was second in goals, power play goals and shorthanded goals and fifth in assists. Nationally he was third in power play goals, sixth in points per game, eighth in goals per game (0.67) and tenth in shorthanded goals.
York, a junior from Wetaskiwin, Alb., finished second in the voting for the league's Ken Dryden Award as the top goaltender in 2009-10. He earned All-ECAC Hockey Second Team recognition by playing in 33 games, including 32 as a starter. He had a 14-13-4 record with a 2.54 goals against average and a .910 save percentage. The Columbus Blue Jackets draft pick and former Camrose Kodiaks standout was second in the league in goals against average and save percentage and fifth in win percentage.
Rensselaer, which is led by fifth-year head coach
Seth Appert, features eight seniors and six juniors among their 17 returners from a team that finished in fifth place and hosted a first round playoff series a season ago. The 2010-11 team consists of 16 forwards, seven defensemen and three goaltenders.
Also released today was the ECAC Hockey Writers and Broadcasters Association Pre-Season All-League Team and Poll, which included Polacek at forward and the Engineers ranked fifth.
