It's finally up on the USCHO home page as of late yesterday. Thanks for the sneak peek, Snives!
My first reactions to the poll … I suspect UMass will drop back to the middle of the pack this year after heavy losses to their best players, and I suspect Northeastern will be a Top Two finisher this season. Not sure about BC (1) and PC's (3) ranks, but it's fair to have them in or around the top tier.
UNH at #7 is interesting, as MS7 seems to have convinced his coaching peers that last year wasn't a mirage - the coaches can be late to the game sometimes (and TBF, I was a doubting Thomas about UMass) - and I'm thinking that a finish in the 5-7 range is probably reasonable to expect. Below that would be disappointing, and above that would be further evidence the new guy has things on the right track. Most on here didn't think Gildon would be back, yet he is, and as promising as he's shown over these last two seasons, I suspect this year is going to be his breakout year, where he begins to put it all together. In fact, the entire back end - a more experienced D-crew, a reliable Robinson, and with Taylor bound to improve from last season's frosh dud - the question would seem to be, can the UNH forwards generate enough offense to push the team further up the competitive pyramid?
I'm going to crawl out on a precarious limb here and predict UNH will:
(1) Finish at #4 in the regular season;
(2) Advance to the Garden for the HE Tourney, but
(3) Lose out on an NCAA bid narrowly by not advancing to the HE Finals
If ANY of that happens, it will be terrific progress. ALL of it … a great season, and COTY for MS7.
WIS goes the wide-eyed, fan-boy optimist route this season. Have at it, folks!!