Preseason Hockey East polls tab UConn men’s team 5th, women 4th

UConn men’s hockey landed fifth in the preseason coaches’ poll. Boston University was first and received nine first-place votes while Boston College was second with two first-place votes. Also ahead of the Huskies, Merrimack was third and Northeastern was fourth.

Mike Cavanaugh’s squad is still looking for its first NCAA Tournament appearance or league crown. Last year, the Huskies lost to UMass Lowell in a home Hockey East Quarterfinals matchup, 2-1. The year before, they made it to the Hockey East championship game after beating Northeastern in the semifinals at TD Garden, only to fall to UMass in the final in overtime. They finished fourth in the league regular-season standings in each of the last two seasons.

Hockey East 2023-24 Men’s Preseason Coaches’ Poll

1. Boston University (9) 109
2. Boston College (2) 99
3. Merrimack 81
4. Northeastern 75
5. UConn 68
6. Providence 65
7. UMass Lowell 62
8. Massachusetts 54
9. Maine 52
10. New Hampshire 30
11. Vermont 20

The UConn women’s hockey squad was picked fourth in the league, behind Northeastern, with eight first-place votes, Vermont, and Providence.

PC had the only other first-place vote, but Vermont finished one point ahead of the Friars in the poll to get second.

Chris MacKenzie’s squad is coming off a season where the Huskies finished 18-13-4, losing to BC in the Hockey East Quarterfinals, 4-3, one year after making the league championship game to cap off an impressive 2021-2022 season. That season, they finished third in the league regular-season standings and last year they were fifth.

Women’s Hockey East 2023-24 Preseason Coaches’ Poll

1. Northeastern (8) 88

2. Vermont 75

3. Providence (1) 74

4. UConn 65

5. Boston University 59

6. Boston College 58

7. Maine 38

8. New Hampshire 35

9. Merrimack 28

10. Holy Cross 20