Defending women’s national champion Minnesota starts the 2012-13 season as the top-ranked team in the USCHO.com Division I Preseason Women’s Poll.
Minnesota received all 15 first-place votes.
National runner-up Wisconsin sits second, followed by Cornell, Boston College and North Dakota to round out the top five.
Boston University, St. Lawrence, Minnesota-Duluth, Northeastern and Mercyhurst are ranked 6-10, respectively, in the preseason poll.
Harvard, Clarkson, Providence, Quinnipiac and Robert Morris also received votes.
The USCHO.com Division I Women’s Poll is compiled weekly and consists of 15 voters, including 14 coaches of Division I programs and one women’s hockey writer.
