BY: ECAC Hockey Ed Krajewski
ALBANY, N.Y. -- For the first time in league history six schools received at least one first-place vote in the coaches’ preseason poll as Yale, Rensselaer, Quinnipiac, Union, Cornell and Dartmouth each earned a top vote in the annual league coaches’ poll. Garnering the most first-place votes with four was Yale which was selected atop in the 2013-‘14 ECAC?Hockey Men’s Coaches’ Preseason Poll with 103 points.
The Bulldogs are coming off story-book season after claiming their first-ever NCAA championship title are led by Keith Allain, who took a team that was seeded 15th overall in the NCAA Tournament to a 2013 Frozen Four title after wins over three top seeds and a No. 2 seed. His Bulldogs won twice in OT (Minnesota, UMass Lowell), came from behind to beat North Dakota, and beat No. 1 Quinnipiac 4-0 at Pittsburgh for the national title. They will be returning 19-letterwinners from last season, including 12 forwards who accounted for 71 goals in 2012-13.
Recognized by coaches in its highest spot since the 1997-98 poll, when it was selected in the top spot, Rensselaer claimed two first-place votes in finishing second in the poll. The Engineers led by head coach Seth Appert, who enters his 8th-season behind the bench, return nine of their top 10 scorers from last season, amassed 102 total points.
Two teams which spent much of last season in the top ten, Quinnipiac and Union finished tied for third in the coaches’ vote each compiling 93 points and two first-place votes. Under Rand Pecknold’s direction Quinnipiac will look to defend the Cleary Cup, while Union, coming off its fourth straight 20-plus win season, will look to capture its third straight ECAC?Men’s Hockey Championship. Cornell, which earned on first-place vote, occupies the fifth slot with 89 points, followed by Harvard, guided by Ted Donato with 67 points.
Dartmouth sits in the No. 7 spot with 64 points, earning one first-place vote, while Brown under head coach Brendan Whittet comes in the No. 8 position with 46 points. Colgate was selected in the No. 9 position in the preseason coaches’ poll under veteran head coach Don Vaughan with 44 points and St. Lawrence was in the tenth spot with 43 points.
Princeton, led by third-year head coach Bob Prier is the No. 11 team in the poll, while Clarkson, under Casey Jones’ direction comes in at No. 12 in the poll.
The men's season opens Saturday, October 5 with two non-conference games when Colgate hosts Ferris State and Clarkson travels to Niagara. Three other ECAC?Hockey schools will face-off in exhibition affairs on the weekend of October 5-6 as well with Rensselaer taking on St. Mary’s at Houston Field House; St. Lawrence welcoming Carleton to Appleton Arena; and Quinnipiac skating against St. Mary’s in Hamden.
Coaches’ preseason poll
1. Yale (4) - 103
2. Rensselaer (2) - 102
3. Quinnipiac (2) - 93
Union (2) - 93
5. Cornell (1) - 89
6. Harvard - 67
7. Dartmouth (1) - 64
8. Brown - 46
9. Colgate - 44
10. St. Lawrence - 43
11. Princeton - 26
12. Clarkson - 22
The ECAC Hockey conference championships return to Lake Placid, N.Y., for the first time in 10 years March 21-22, 2014. Tickets for the annual tournament will go on sale through the Olympic Center box office on Nov. 4, 2013.
Photo: The coaches from the 12 schools that make up the ECAC Hockey Conference participated in Tuesday’s, Sept. 24, media day press conference, held in the Conference Center at Lake Placid, in Lake Placid, N.Y. (Photo courtesy Whiteface Lake Placid/ ORDA)
-- ORDA --
Established in 1982, the New York State Olympic Regional Development Authority (ORDA) was created by the State of New York to manage the facilities used during the 1980 Olympic Winter Games at Lake Placid. ORDA operates Whiteface, Belleayre and Gore Mountain ski areas; the Olympic Sports Complex at Mt. Van Hoevenberg; the Olympic speed skating oval, Olympic jumping complex and Olympic arena. As host to international and national championships, the Authority has brought millions of athletes, spectator and participants to the region, resulting in significant economic development.
