Colgate is Coaches’ Choice in 2014-15
Three Teams Receive First-Place Votes in Preseason Poll
ALBANY, N.Y. — For the first time since the 2006-07 poll Colgate was selected atop in the 2014-15 ECAC Hockey Men’s Coaches’ Preseason Poll with 117 points, earning a league-high seven first-place votes.
The Raiders, which return nine-of-ten top scorers and one of the league’s top netminders, ended last year by making their fifth appearance in the NCAA Tournament and making the ECAC Hockey Championship game for the first time since 1990. The Raiders won 20 games for the 10th time in school history and fifth time under head coach Don Vaughan. It was the first time since 2005-06 that Colgate had won 20 games.
Coming off the 2013-14 historic season capturing its first-ever NCAA Division I Championship, Union claimed two first-place votes in finishing second in the poll. Looking to defend both the league’s Cleary and Whitelaw Cups, the Dutchmen are led by head coach Rick Bennett, who embarks on his 4th-season behind the bench and holds a record against nationally-ranked teams stands at 30-9-6 (.720), amassed 103 total points.
Cornell, showcasing one of the top scoring defenses among all league teams each season under head coach Mike Schafer, received a total of 90 points, including two first-place votes. The Big Red will welcome eight additions to the program for the 2014-15 season.
Two teams which spent much of last season in the top ten, Yale and Quinnipiac finished fourth and fifth respectively in the poll. Under Keith Allain’s direction the Bulldogs 18-letterwinners, their Whitney Avenue rival Bobcats extended their streak of winning an ECAC Hockey postseason series to nine consecutive years. Dartmouth, which returns 98.6% of its scoring output from last season, sits in the sixth spot in the poll earning 67 points.
Brown sits in the No. 7 spot with 61 points, while Clarkson under head coach Casey Jones comes in the No. 8 position with 58 points. Harvard was selected in the No. 9 position in the preseason coaches’ poll under head coach Ted Donato with 52 points and Rensselaer was in the tenth spot with 40 points.
St. Lawrence, under the direction of Greg Carvel is the No. 11 team in the poll, while Princeton with first-year head coach Ron Fogarty comes in at No. 12 in the poll.
The men’s season opens Friday, October 10 with five non-conference games, including; Clarkson, coming off its best season in six years, visiting Niagara; Colgate at fellow 2014 NCAA Tournament participant St. Cloud State; Rensselaer traveling to Notre Dame for the annual Ice Breaker Tournament; St. Lawrence, in its first of nine non-league games, facing-off against RIT; and Union raising its championship banners when American International comes calling at Messa Rink.
2014-15 Preseason Coaches’ Poll
1) Colgate (7) 117
2) Union (4) 103
3) Cornell (1) 90
4) Yale 87
5) Quinnipiac 82
6) Dartmouth 67
7) Brown 61
8) Clarkson 58
9) Harvard 52
10) Rensselaer 40
11) St. Lawrence 24
12) Princeton 11
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