Dartmouth men's hockey team picked 2nd, UNH 9th in league preseason coaches' polls
· Yahoo Sports
Defending ECAC tournament champion Dartmouth College was predicted to finish second in the conference standings in the league's men's hockey preseason coaches' poll that was released on Wednesday.
Dartmouth received two first-place votes and tallied 110 points, second to Quinnipiac University (10 first-place votes, 120 points).
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The Big Green won a program-record 23 games and made their first NCAA Division I tournament appearance since 1980 last year. Junior forward Hayden Stavroff, the ECAC Player of the Year last year, headlines Dartmouth's key returners.
Stavroff, fellow junior forward Hank Cleaves and senior goaltender Emmett Croteau were named to the All-ECAC preseason team.
Bedford native Rand Pecknold is entering his 33rd season coaching Quinnipiac, which has won the last six ECAC regular season titles.
In the Hockey East preseason coaches poll, the University of New Hampshire placed ninth in the 11-team league. The Wildcats earned 35 points in the poll, finishing ahead of UMass Lowell (31 points) and Vermont (22 points).
The Wildcats went 14-20-1 overall and 8-15-1 in Hockey East play last season.
Providence College (106 points) topped the poll, receiving eight first-place votes.
Massachusetts (98 points, one first-place vote), Boston University (87 points, two first-place votes), Boston College (86 points) and Connecticut (73 points) rounded out the top five.
Defending Hockey East champion Merrimack College placed sixth in the poll with 68 points.
UNH will open its 2026-27 campaign at Quinnipiac on Friday, Oct. 2. The Wildcats will also play at Dartmouth on Sunday, Dec. 13.
The Big Green open their season by hosting Alaska Fairbanks at Thompson Arena on Halloween night (7).