Sept. 29, 2014 Notre Dame, Ind. – The University of Notre Dame hockey team will open the 2014-15 season ranked in both national collegiate hockey preseason polls. The Irish are ranked 10th in the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine preseason poll along with Ferris State University to start the new season. The USCHO.com preseason poll has Notre Dame ranked 12th among its top 20 teams.
The Irish are coming off a 23-15-2 season in 2013-14 and finished the year ranked 11th in the USA Today rankings and ninth by USCHO.com.
This year’s preseason rankings in both polls agree on the top four teams in the nation with Minnesota, North Dakota, Providence College and Boston College ranking one through four in each poll.
Minnesota received 32 of 34 first-place votes in the USA Today poll with North Dakota and defending national champion Union College getting one first-place vote each. In the USCHO.com poll, Minnesota took 36 of 50 first-place votes. Union College had its name listed first on nine ballots while North Dakota and Providence each picked up two first-place votes with Colgate notching the other first-place nod.
Union College, the winners of the 2013-14 Frozen Four after recording a record of 32-6-4, was ranked eighth in the USA Today poll and fifth by USCHO.com.
This marks the eighth time in the Notre Dame program’s history that the Irish have been ranked in the preseason polls. The previous times occurred prior to the start of the 1972-73 season (8th), the 1973-74 campaign (2nd), in 2007-08 (8th), 2008-09 (3rd), 2009-10 (5th), 2011-12 (2nd), 2012-13 (10th) and 2013-14 (8th).
Notre Dame opens the 2014-15 season at 5:05 p.m., on Oct. 5, when the Irish play host to the University of Waterloo at the Compton Family Ice Arena in a preseason game. Notre Dame then kicks off the regular season when the Irish play host to the annual Ice Breaker Tournament. The tourney opens at 2:05 p.m. on Oct. 10 with Minnesota facing off against Minnesota Duluth. Notre Dame then gets its first taste of regular-season action at 7:35 p.m. when the Irish play host to the Rensselaer (RPI) Engineers in game two of the tournament.
Single game tickets for the Friday afternoon game (2:05 p.m. start) are $10 general admission and on sale now. The Notre Dame game has no reserved seats available with a limited number of general admission tickets remaining at the Murnane Family Ticket Office only or by calling 574-631-7356. Sunday’s doubleheader, with game times at 12:05 p.m. and 3:05 p.m., will have just one ticket for both games. The Irish will play in the second game of Sunday’s doubleheader against either Minnesota or Minnesota Duluth. RPI will play in the early game versus the Gophers or the Bulldogs.
Preseason USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine College Hockey Poll
2013-14 Final `13-'14 School Record Pts Rank1. Minnesota (32) 28-7-6 505 22. North Dakota (1) 25-14-3 449 53. Providence 22-11-6 431 94. Boston College 28-8-4 375 35. Colgate 20-14-5 315 136. St. Cloud State 22-11-5 272 87. Michigan 18-13-4 252 NR8. Union College (1) 32-6-4 237 19. Miami 15-20-3 236 NR10. Notre Dame 23-15-2 175 11 Ferris State 29-11-3 175 612. Wisconsin 24-11-2 159 713. Minnesota State 26-14-1 136 1214. Cornell 17-10-5 99 NR15. Denver 20-16-6 54 15 Receiving votes: Northeastern, 51; UMass Lowell, 42; Boston University, 34;Minnesota Duluth, 16; Yale, 14; New Hampshire, 12; Quinnipiac, 10; Michigan Tech, 9;Mercyhurst, 6; Michigan State, 6; Ohio State, 4; Robert Morris, 4.
Preseason USCHO.com Poll
2013-14 Final `13-'14 School Record Pts Rank1. Minnesota (36) 28-7-6 978 22. North Dakota (2) 25-14-3 874 43. Providence (2) 22-11-6 839 104. Boston College 28-8-4 833 35. Union College (9) 32-6-4 737 16. Colgate (1) 20-14-5 652 127. St. Cloud State 22-11-5 596 88. Michigan 18-13-4 569 169. Ferris State 29-11-3 532 610. Wisconsin 24-11-2 497 711. Miami 15-20-3 491 NR12. Notre Dame 23-15-2 433 913. Minnesota State 26-14-1 411 1114. Cornell 17-10-5 284 1515. Quinnipiac 24-10-6 282 916. Northeastern 19-14-4 270 2017. UMass Lowell 26-11-4 247 518. Denver 20-16-6 225 1719. New Hampshire 22-18-1 97 1820. Boston University 10-21-4 88 NR Receiving votes: Minnesota Duluth, 87; Ohio State, 76; Yale, 57;Mercyhurst, 54; Vermont, 51; Robert Morris, 27; Michigan Tech, 26; Western Michigan,14; Dartmouth, 13; Bowling Green, 11; Michigan State, 8; Nebraska Omaha, 8;Rensselaer, 5; Alaska, 4; Harvard, 4; Air Force, 3; Brown, 3; Clarkson, 2;Maine, 2; Massachusetts, 2; Niagara, 1; St. Lawrence, 1.
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