Boston College Ranked #3 In Preseason Hockey East Media Poll

Chalk it up to always being expected to reload. Despite a bevy of departures due to graduation and defection to the pro ranks, Boston College was ranked #3 in Hockey East the preseason media poll conducted by the Hockey East Writers and Broadcasters Association (HEWBA).

Ballots were received from print and broadcast media covering the 12 league schools as well as regional and national media. BC Interruption participates in the media poll.

Boston University was near-universal choice as #1 in this year’s rankings, taking 22 of 26 first place votes. BU adds a slew of highly touted freshmen to a team that finished 4th last season, and has arguably amassed the most high-level NHL prospect talent of any team in college hockey history. They will be expected to dominate this season.

Notre Dame was ranked preseason #2 in their final season in Hockey East. The Irish return star goalie Cal Petersen, who will be expected to backstop ND to another tournament run.

The third-place Eagles received two first place votes - somewhat surprising, given the general attitude and suspicion that BC is due for a big drop-off from last season. (The first place votes did not come from us.)

UMass-Lowell and defending league champion Northeastern finished 4th and 5th in the poll, and split the other two first-place votes.

2015 national champion Providence College, who also lost a ton of talent from last year’s team, is ranked #6. The top six teams in the preseason poll are the same six that ran away from the pack last year.

UConn is ranked #7, expected to be the “Best of the Rest” in a crowded lower-half of the league. Merrimack, Vermont, UNH, Maine and UMass round out the poll.

1. Boston University
2. Notre Dame
3. Boston College
4. UMass-Lowell
5. Northeastern
6. Providence
7. Connecticut
8. Merrimack
9. Vermont
10. New Hampshire
11. Maine
12. UMass-Amherst

The official Hockey East coaches poll will be released tomorrow at the league’s Media Day. We’ll reveal how we all rank the teams in our BCI power poll later this week.

BC plays an exhibition game on Sunday against Carleton before beginning the regular season on October 7 against Air Force at the IceBreaker tournament in Denver.