ECAC pre-season ice hockey polls announced

            PLYMOUTH, N.H. - The Eastern College Athletic Conference Division III ice hockey preseason polls have been announced, and the Plymouth State University men's team is ranked eighth out of 14 schools in the ECAC Northeast, while the Panther women are picked 12th out of 13 schools in their second year in the ECAC Women's East.

            Defending regular season champion Curry College was picked to win the Men's Northeast, just ahead of defending tournament champion UMass Dartmouth, while eight-time defending Women's East tournament champion Manhattanville College edged regular season champ Saint Anselm College for the top spot in the Women's East poll. The polls were voted on by the league's head coaches and announced Thursday by the ECAC Office.

            The Panther men skated to a ninth-place finish in the Northeast last year with a 7-7-2 conference record, 10-12-3 overall.  PSU missed out on the post-season for the first time in four years after earning home ice advantage for the first round of the playoffs the previous three seasons.

            The Panther women are in their third season as a varsity sport and second campaign in the ECAC East.  PSU finished 12th last season with a 0-20-1 overall record, 0-18-1 in conference play.

            PSU opens the men's hockey season with consecutive conference road games on Nov. 13 and 15 at Stonehill and Westfield State, respectively, with the home opener slated for Nov. 22 at Waterville Valley Arena against UMass Dartmouth.  The women's hockey season opens with conference road games on Nov. 13 and 14 at Norwich and Castleton, with the home opener on tap for Dec. 6 against Southern Maine. 

ECAC Men's Northeast Hockey Pre-Season Poll

1.        Curry (6)                                     183

2.        UMass Dartmouth (5)                 178
3.        Nichols (3)                                  175
4.        Wentworth                                 161

5.        Fitchburg State                           118

6.        Suffolk                                        124

7.        Becker                                        103

8.        Plymouth State                         94

9.        Salve Regina                              79

10.      Johnson & Wales                       73

11.      Western New England               68

12.      Westfield State                          62

13.      Worcester State                        32

14.      Framingham State                     28
 

  (first-place votes in parentheses)

ECAC Women's East Hockey Pre-Season Poll

1.        Manhattanville (4)                       148

2.        Saint Anselm (8)                         147
3.        Holy Cross                                  129
4.        Norwich                                      114

5.        UMass Boston                            113

6.        New England College                 103

7.        Salve Regina                               81

8.        Southern Maine                          70

9.        Saint Michael's                            62

10.      Castleton                                    48

11.      Nichols                                        32

12.      Plymouth State                          27

13.      MIT                                             21

 (first-place votes in parentheses) 

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