Boston College Hockey: 10 Days Until The Puck Drops

On Tuesday, the first-ever Hockey East Writers & Broadcast Association's preseason poll was released. BC takes the top spot, garnering 20 of the media's 22 first place votes.

The Eagles were also represented on the poll's first-team, All Hockey East selections. Junior Cam Atkinson made the ballot as one of three forwards, while goalie John Muse split tied with Providence's Alex Beaudry for first-team goaltender.

Below are the complete poll results:

1. Boston College (20) 218
2. Maine (2) 190
3. New Hampshire 168
4. Boston University 141
5. Merrimack 127
6. Vermont 120
7. Northeastern 103
8. Massachusetts-Lowell 63
9. Massachusetts 44
10. Providence 36

F Cam Atkinson (Jr., Boston College)
F Stephane Da Costa (So., Merrimack)
F Gustav Nyquist (Jr., Maine)
D Blake Kessel (Jr., New Hampshire)
D David Warsofsky (Jr., Boston University)
G tied-Alex Beaudry (Jr., Providence)
G tied-John Muse (Sr., Boston College)

Now I'm sure Beaudry is an outstanding goalie, but one goalie has two National Championships (in his first three seasons) to his name. The other has never been to the Hockey East Tournament. C'mon now.

On Wednesday, the league's coaches will release their preseason poll.

Season Preview. The Boston Hockey Blog finally got to their preview of the Eagles. Here's what Scott McLaughlin had to say about the Eagles' chances in 2010:

"A typical strong freshman class, headlined by first-round NHL pick Kevin Hayes, should have no problem replacing what little production the Eagles did lose. The only question on Chestnut Hill is whether or not last year’s leadership can be replaced. Ben Smith, Matt Price and Matt Lombardi formed one of the best captaincies you’ll see in college hockey, and if BC and BU have proven anything the last two seasons, it’s that the post-championship hangover is real and you need strong leadership to avoid it."

Leadership is certainly important, but so is returning talent. The Eagles return much more talent than they did in 2001-02 and 2008-09.

The Repeat Will Be Televised. Inside College Hockey has compiled a comprehensive list of college hockey games available on national TV this season. The Eagles will appear on four nationally televised games, starting in January:

Friday, January 7 - Providence at Boston College, 7 PM NESN (DirecTV 628)
Friday, January 21 - Boston College at Boston University, 7 PM NESN
Monday, February 7 - Boston College vs. Boston University, 8 PM NESN
Friday, March 4 - New Hampshire at Boston College, 7 PM NESN

Should BC get past BU in the first round of the Beanpot, the Championship game will also be shown on NESN on Monday, February 14 at 8 PM.