MANSFIELD, Mass. Freshman D-man Ryan Polin (Holt, Mich.) has been named Atlantic Hockey Conference Defensive Player of the Week as announced by the league office earlier today.

The defenseman registered the first two goals of his collegiate career while adding an assist during the team's 4-2 victory over Niagara on Saturday evening.

The rookie turned in a +2 rating over the weekend while helping the penalty-kill unit go 9-for-10 including a perfect 6-for-6 on Saturday. Polin also added a pair of blocked shots giving him a total of 28 on the season which tops the team.

This marks the third week out of the last four that AIC has taken home a major weekly award as freshman Shawn McBride (Victoria, B.C.) was named Rookie of the Week three weeks ago and sophomore Alex Murray (Burlington, Ont.) earned Goalie of the Week accolades the following week.

Polin has added three assists on the year giving him five points which is good for tied 10th in the league for defensemen scoring and ranks third for rookie defensemen.

AIC returns to the ice this evening as they head east on I-90 to battle rival Holy Cross with a 7:05 p.m. puck drop.

FULL ATLANTIC HOCKEY RELEASE