Terrier Hockey Team Figures Prominently In Pre-Season Polls
September 30, 2003 | Men's Ice Hockey
Both national collegiate pre-season hockey polls, as well as the Hockey East pre-season coaches' poll have been released, and the Terrier hockey team figures prominently in all three.
In both the USA Today/American Hockey Magazine and the U.S. College Hockey Online national rankings, the Terriers were picked in the same spots in which they finished last season's final poll.
In the USCHO Division 1 men's poll, the Terriers were selected sixth with 241 points. The University of Minnesota, which became the first team in three decades to successfully defend its NCAA Division 1 title, is the pre-season pick to win its third straight national title. The Gophers, who defeated the University of New Hampshire in last April's national title game, garnered 25 first-place votes and 445 points in this year's initial poll. Prior to Minnesota, the last team to defend its national title was Boston University, which skated off with the 1971 and 1972 national titles. Michigan (399 points) is the pick to finish second this year followed, in order, by Boston College (354), New Hampshire (334), North Dakota (284), BOSTON UNIVERSITY (241), Harvard (233), Ferris State (203), Cornell (187), and Michigan State (180) to round out the top 10.
| US College Hockey Online Poll |
| Team | First Place | Record | Pts | Last Year |
| Minnesota | 25 | 28-8-9 | 445 | 4 |
| Michigan | 2 | 30-10-3 | 399 | 7 |
| Boston College | 2 | 24-11-4 | 354 | 8 |
| New Hampshire | 1 | 28-8-6 | 334 | 3 |
| North Dakota | | 26-12-5 | 284 | 12 |
| BOSTON UNIVERSITY | | 25-14-3 | 241 | 6 |
| Harvard | | 22-10-2 | 233 | 10 |
| Ferris State | | 31-10-1 | 203 | 5 |
| Cornell | | 30-5-1 | 187 | 1 |
| Michigan State | | 23-14-2 | 180 | NR |
In the USA Today poll, Minnesota is also the team to beat with 25 first-place votes and 481 points, while the Terriers are number seven with 267 points. The Gophers are again followed by Michigan with 442 points, while the rest of the top 10 has Boston College (439), New Hampshire (369), North Dakota (366), Harvard (301), BOSTON UNIVERSITY (267), Cornell (251), Ferris State (246), and Colorado College (202).
| USA Today Poll |
| Team | First Place | Record | Pts | Last Year |
| Minnesota | 25 | 28-8-9 | 481 | 1 |
| Michigan | 3 | 30-10-3 | 442 | 4 |
| Boston College | 3 | 24-11-4 | 439 | 8 |
| New Hampshire | 28-8-6 | 369 | 2 | |
| North Dakota | 2 | 26-12-5 | 366 | NR |
| Harvard | | 22-10-2 | 301 | 10 |
| BOSTON UNIVERSITY | | 25-14-3 | 267 | 7 |
| Cornell | 1 | 30-5-1 | 251 | 3 |
| Ferris State | | 31-10-1 | 246 | 6 |
| Colorado College | | 30-7-5 | 202 | 5 |
Finally, in the Hockey East pre-season poll, the Terriers, who finished fifth in last year's final Hockey East regular-season standings but came back in the playoffs to advance to the title game, have been picked to finish third this year in a poll conducted by the nine league coaches. In the meantime, Boston College, which was runnerup to New Hampshire in last year's final standings, is the overwhelming choice to emerge with the 2003-04 Hockey East title, as the Eagles garnered the maximum number of first-place votes a team can receive. The reason is that a coach cannot vote for his team to finish first. Thus, with eight first-place votes and 72 points, BC is the team to beat this year. The Eagles are followed in order by New Hampshire (63), BOSTON UNIVERSITY (58), Maine (50), Massachusetts (45), Providence (37), UMass/Lowell (26), Northeastern (23), and Merrimack (22).
| Hockey East Pre-Season Poll |
| Team (1st Place Votes) | Points |
| Boston College (8) | 72 |
| New Hampshire (1) | 63 |
| BOSTON UNIVERSITY | 58 |
| Maine | 50 |
| Massachusetts | 45 |
| Providence | 45 |
| UMass/Lowell | 26 |
| Northeastern | 23 |
| Merrimack | 22 |
