UMass-Dartmouth, RIT and Middlebury have been tabbed the preseason favorites by coaches in their ECAC leagues in polling released by the league office.<\/p>\n
UMass-Dartmouth took the inaugural coaches’ preseason poll in the revamped Northeast, earning 13 of 18 first-place votes and amassing 318 points. Rival Fitchburg State finished second, earning 306 points and four first-place votes.<\/p>\n
The two-time defending ECAC tournament champion, UMass-Dartmouth finished second in the ECAC Central last season to St. Michael’s, but rebounded to win the tournament with a 4-2 decision over the Ice Knights.<\/p>\n
“We are excited about the selection, although we have never won a championship at the start of the season,” said Corsairs coach John Rolli. “I think the coaches voted for us as a reflection of winning the North-South-Central three of the last four years.”<\/p>\n
Either UMass-Dartmouth or Fitchburg State has won the ECAC crown in each of the last six years.<\/p>\n
RIT was selected as the preseason favorite in the ECAC West coaches poll. The Tigers received three of the four first-place votes to edge out Mercyhurst, which received the other first-place vote, by one point.<\/p>\n
This marks the fourth straight year that the Tigers have earned top billing in the West preseason poll. RIT finished second to now-Division I independent Niagara in last year’s regular season. The Purple Eagles also knocked off the Tigers in the West championship game 5-2.<\/p>\n
“Over the course of the hockey season, you have many opportunities to feel good about your program, whether it be invitational tournaments, post-season championships, or preseason rankings,” RIT coach Eric Hoffberg said.<\/p>\n
The ECAC East coaches tabbed four-time defending national champion and six-time ECAC regular-season champion Middlebury as the preseason favorite. The Panthers earned 14 first-place votes and 319 points, while last year’s tournament champion, Hamilton, received one first-place vote and 271 points, finishing third behind Williams, which earned two first-place votes and amassed 294 points.<\/p>\n
“We lost some real high-quality players and leaders in Mark Spence and Ryan Goldman and our two All-American goaltenders,” Middlebury head coach Bill Beaney said. “I think, if we can fill those voids, we will be in the thick of it. I think the league will show a lot of parity in the top 12 teams. Anything can happen; that’s what makes it exciting.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
UMass-Dartmouth, RIT and Middlebury have been tabbed the preseason favorites by coaches in their ECAC leagues in polling released by the league office. UMass-Dartmouth took the inaugural coaches’ preseason poll in the revamped Northeast, earning 13 of 18 first-place votes and amassing 318 points. Rival Fitchburg State finished second, earning 306 points and four first-place […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":140328,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"coauthors":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n