According to this year’s preseason coaches and media polls, defending tournament champion Princeton is the team to beat in ECAC Hockey this season. The Tigers, who return 21 players from last season’s roster, claimed the top spot in both preseason men’s polls this year, but according to the poll results, it will be another tight race en route to the 2009 league crown.
Princeton earned the No. 1 spot on the coaches’ list with 118 total points and nine first-place votes. Last year’s ECAC Hockey Championship runner-up, Harvard, captured the second position with 103 points and two first-place votes. Cornell came in at the No. 3 position with 100 points and one first-place vote. Clarkson received 88 points to earn the No. 4 position, followed by Union (80), Quinnipiac (72), Yale (67), St. Lawrence (48), Colgate (43), Rensselaer (38), Dartmouth (33) and Brown (11).
In the media poll, Princeton was first with 278 points and 15 first-place votes, the first time Princeton claimed the top spot in the poll’s 10-year history. Harvard ranked second with 247 points and four first-place votes, while Cornell was third with 244 points and two firsts. Clarkson (234), notching two first-place votes, and Quinnipiac (178) checked in at No. 4 and 5, respectively.
Union finished sixth in the media voting with 160 points, followed by Yale (156). St. Lawrence came in eighth with 129 points. Rensselaer (107), Colgate (99), Dartmouth (81), and Brown (34) rounded out the remainder of the poll.
ECAC Hockey Preseason Coaches’ Poll
Princeton (9) 118
Harvard (2) 103
Cornell (1) 100
Clarkson 88
Union 80
Quinnipiac 72
Yale 67
St. Lawrence 48
Colgate 43
Rensselaer 38
Dartmouth 33
Brown 11
ECAC Hockey Preseason Media Poll
Princeton (15) 278
Harvard (4) 247
Cornell (2) 244
Clarkson (2) 234
Quinnipiac 178
Union 160
Yale 156
St. Lawrence 129
Rensselaer 107
Colgate 99
Dartmouth 81
Brown 34
