ECAC pre-season ice hockey polls announced
PLYMOUTH, N.H. - The Eastern College Athletic Conference Division III ice hockey polls have been announced, and the Plymouth State University men's team is ranked fourth out of 13 schools in the ECAC Northeast, while the Panther women are at the bottom in their first year as a new member in the ECAC Women's East.
The defending champions are picked to repeat in both conferences - UMass Dartmouth in the Men's Northeast, and Saint Anselm College in the Women's East. The polls were voted on by the league's head coaches and announced by the ECAC Office.
The Panther men skated to a fourth-place finish in the Northeast last year with a 10-4-1 conference record, 11-13-2 overall. UMass Dartmouth, Curry and Wentworth finished ahead of PSU both last season and in this year's preseason poll. Plymouth State is out to finish in the top four and earn home ice advantage for the first round of the playoffs for the fourth year in a row.
The Panther women are in their second season as a varsity sport and first season in the ECAC East. PSU finished its inaugural varsity season as an independent in 2006-07 with a 3-17-0 overall record, and look to show improvement as it builds a foundation at the varsity level.
Both Panther squads open the season with home games at the Waterville Valley Arena. The men make their debut on Saturday, Nov. 10, with a non-conference game against Nichols College (6:00 p.m.), while the women drop the puck on their opener on Friday and Saturday, Nov. 16-17, against Saint Michael's College and Norwich University, respectively (both at 6:00 p.m.)
ECAC Men's Northeast Hockey Pre-Season Poll
1. UMass Dartmouth
(8)
163
2. Curry (4)
156
3. Wentworth
(1)
148
4. Plymouth
State
115
5.
Nichols
106
6. Fitchburg
State
104
7. Johnson &
Wales
96
8.
Suffolk
80
9. Salve
Regina
65
10. Western New
England
55
11. Worcester
State
41
12.
Becker
29
13. Framingham
State
25
(first-place votes in parentheses)
ECAC Women's East Hockey Pre-Season Poll
1. Saint Anselm
(11)
143
2.
Manhattanville
130
3. Holy Cross
(1)
117
4. UMass
Boston
106
5. New England College
103
6. Southern
Maine
80
7. Salve
Regina
66
8. Saint
Michael's
52
9.
Norwich
50
10. Castleton
State
41
11.
MIT
30
12. Plymouth
State
18
(first-place votes in parentheses)
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