The DU Pioneers finished last season on top. Now they’ll start the next one at the top, too.
The University of Denver hockey team received the No. 1 ranking in the preseason USCHO poll released Monday, months after the program claimed a record 10th national title in Minneapolis.
The Pios received 42 of 50 first-place votes in the poll voted on coaches and media members from across the country. Second-ranked Boston College received six first-place votes and Cornell two.
DU is one of a record eight NCHC teams in the nine-school conference to land in the top 20. Rival Colorado College came in at No. 11 after narrowly missing out on the NCAA Tournament last season. Also ranked from the NCHC were North Dakota (5), Omaha (15), St. Cloud State (16), Western Michigan (17), Minnesota Duluth (18) and new addition Arizona State (20).
The Pios finished 32-9-3 last season en route to the national title, marking the 22nd consecutive season the Pios won at least 20 games. They open the season with a two-game series at Alaska Anchorage on Oct. 5-6, and will host 20th-ranked Northeastern for a two-game set on Oct. 18-19.
USCHO Division I Men’s Poll
(Can’t see rankings in mobile? Click here.)
Rank
Team
Points
Last Poll
1
Denver (42)
988
1
2
Boston College (6)
945
2
3
Boston University
869
3
4
Michigan State
775
5
5
North Dakota
755
8
6
Minnesota
748
7
7
Michigan
690
4
8
Quinnipiac
633
6
9
Cornell (2)
585
9
10
Wisconsin
489
11
11
Colorado College
449
15
12
Maine
425
10
13
Providence
392
16
14
Massachusetts
329
13
15
Omaha
262
12
16
St. Cloud
247
18
17
Western Michigan
224
14
18
Minnesota Duluth
95
NR
19
Notre Dame
79
NR
20
Arizona State
61
NR
20
Northeastern
61
NR
Others receiving votes: RIT 55, St. Thomas 53, Michigan Tech 47, Bemidji State 44, New Hampshire 31, Sacred Heart 29, Penn State 23, Harvard 22, Holy Cross 14, Ohio State 14, Minnesota State 12, Dartmouth 10, Merrimack 9, Clarkson 8, Connecticut 7, AIC 4, UMass Lowell 4, Colgate 3, LIU 2, Brown 1, St. Lawrence 1
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