Photo by: Rich Gagnon
Men's Ice Hockey Favored to Win Hockey East, Ranked Second in National Polls
September 26, 2017 | Men's Ice Hockey
2017-18 Prospectus
BOSTON - With the 2017-18 season only a few days away, the Boston University men's ice hockey team has been named the preseason favorite in the Hockey East race for the second consecutive year, it was announced on Tuesday at the league's annual Media Day. The Terriers are also ranked second in both national preseason polls.
BU, which shared the 2016-17 Hockey East regular-season crown with UMass Lowell and Boston College, received just two first-place votes from fellow coaches but still took the top spot in the poll with 80 points, two points ahead of the River Hawks, who had five first-place votes. Providence came in third with 83 points (2 first-place votes) while Boston College (75) and Northeastern (72) rounded out the top five and each showed up at the top of one ballot.
In the national preseason polls, which were released on Monday, defending national champion Denver took the top spot in both the USCHO.com Division I Men's Poll and the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Men's College Hockey Poll. The Terriers were second in both while Minnesota and Harvard followed in third and fourth, respectively.
BU is coming off a 2016-17 season in which it posted a record of 24-12-3 and reached the NCAA West Regional final, coming up an overtime goal short of the Frozen Four. The Terriers return 11 players who dressed for at least 33 games last season and that group includes three of the squad's top five scorers.
The Terriers will take on No. 16 Union on Saturday (Sept. 30) in one of only two games on opening night of the NCAA season. It will be the first time in the program's 96-year history that the team will play a contest in September.
BOSTON - With the 2017-18 season only a few days away, the Boston University men's ice hockey team has been named the preseason favorite in the Hockey East race for the second consecutive year, it was announced on Tuesday at the league's annual Media Day. The Terriers are also ranked second in both national preseason polls.
BU, which shared the 2016-17 Hockey East regular-season crown with UMass Lowell and Boston College, received just two first-place votes from fellow coaches but still took the top spot in the poll with 80 points, two points ahead of the River Hawks, who had five first-place votes. Providence came in third with 83 points (2 first-place votes) while Boston College (75) and Northeastern (72) rounded out the top five and each showed up at the top of one ballot.
Head coach David Quinn's squad also came out on top in the media poll, conducted by the Hockey East Writers & Broadcasters Association. BU received 13 of 25 first-place votes to collect 259 points and outpace Providence (235), UMass Lowell (235), Northeastern (193) and Boston College (185). Sophomore defenseman Dante Fabbro and classmate Jake Oettinger were selected to the media's preseason All-Hockey East team.
In the national preseason polls, which were released on Monday, defending national champion Denver took the top spot in both the USCHO.com Division I Men's Poll and the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Men's College Hockey Poll. The Terriers were second in both while Minnesota and Harvard followed in third and fourth, respectively.
BU is coming off a 2016-17 season in which it posted a record of 24-12-3 and reached the NCAA West Regional final, coming up an overtime goal short of the Frozen Four. The Terriers return 11 players who dressed for at least 33 games last season and that group includes three of the squad's top five scorers.
The Terriers will take on No. 16 Union on Saturday (Sept. 30) in one of only two games on opening night of the NCAA season. It will be the first time in the program's 96-year history that the team will play a contest in September.
| 2017-18 HOCKEY EAST PRESEASON COACHES POLL | ||
| Team (1st Place Votes) | Pts. | |
| 1. | Boston University (2) | 90 |
| 2. | UMass Lowell (5) | 88 |
| 3. | Providence (2) | 83 |
| 4. | Boston College (1) | 75 |
| 5. | Northeastern (1) | 72 |
| 6. | Vermont | 54 |
| 7. | UConn | 39 |
| 8. | New Hampshire | 37 |
| 9. | Merrimack | 29 |
| 10. | Maine | 19 |
| Massachusetts | 19 | |
| 2017-18 HOCKEY EAST PRESEASON MEDIA POLL | ||
| Team (1st Place Votes) | Pts. | |
| 1. | Boston University (13) | 259 |
| 2. | Providence (5) | 235 |
| 3. | UMass Lowell (5) | 233 |
| 4. | Northeastern (2) | 193 |
| 5. | Boston College | 185 |
| 6. | Vermont | 148 |
| 7. | Merrimack | 109 |
| 8. | UConn | 98 |
| 9. | New Hampshire | 73 |
| 10. | Massachusetts | 60 |
| 11. | Maine | 57 |
Players Mentioned
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